STEM scholarships and jobs
Tidewater Community College (TCC) in Virginia has established a program designed to boost the number of women and minorities graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The TCC Women’s Center STEM Promise Program will start with the 2017-18 academic year. Initially, 10 scholarships covering 100 percent of tuition and fees will be awarded to high-performing students. When it is fully implemented, up to 30 students a year will enroll at TCC under the innovative program, which also provides specialized advising and mentoring.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who attended the recent announcement on TCC’s Norfolk Campus, said that last year Virginia had 149,000 open tech jobs.
“We have to fill them here, so they don’t go to another state,” he said. “TCC is connecting education with jobs that exist.”
Fourth annual Community College Cyber Summit
At a time when the U.S. is rapidly trying to build a cybersecurity infrastructure to combat the constant threat of cyberattacks, the Community College Cyber Summit (3CS) is gearing up to train, educate and develop the future cyber workforce.
The fourth annual 3CS is scheduled for June 28-30 at Prince George’s Community College and National Harbor in Maryland. This year’s theme is “Strengthening Our Cyber IQ” and follows one of four tracks: new to cybersecurity, experienced in cybersecurity, cybersecurity across the curriculum, and student track.
3CS is the only national academic conference of its kind focused solely on cybersecurity education at community colleges. With nearly 1,500 community colleges in the U.S. and an expected cybersecurity workforce shortage, faculty and staff from these schools are flocking to 3CS to get ahead.
“By spreading the cybersecurity message among community colleges throughout the country, 3CS helps us protect ourselves now and in the future from debilitating cyberattacks which threaten our businesses, our privacy, our lives, and our democracy,” said Robert Spear, chair of 3CS.
Recertified cyber defense center
Florida’s Jackson State Community College was recertified through 2022 as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Two-Year Education by the U.S. National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security.
The five-year designation puts Jackson State among an elite group of institutions offering computer information technology courses that meet rigorous federal standards and sets graduating students apart from others. Only about 40 community colleges and 200 four-year universities across the country have the designation.
Delta Air Lines partnership
Guilford Technical Community College will work with Delta Air Lines to promote aircraft maintenance technician training. (Photo: GTCC)
South Carolina’s Guilford Technical Community College has been selected by Delta Air Lines to partner in an initiative that promotes aircraft maintenance technician (AMT) training.
It is projected that AMTs will soon be in high demand in the airline industry. In order to prepare for this hiring need, Delta Air Lines is partnering with GTCC, and 37 other AMT schools. Through this partnership, GTCC will gain Delta as a resource for strengthening the AMT program, and students will receive development opportunities and technical support to expand on equipment and adapt to industry changes.
Additionally, partnering with Delta will help provide internship opportunities for students and broaden access to the benefits of AMT careers available within the global aviation industry.
“This partnership will provide GTCC students with a direct relationship with one of the top three largest passenger airlines in the world,” said Nick Yale, director of GTCC’s aviation program.
Small carbon footprint, bigger savings
As talk about climate change heats up around the world, Holyoke Community College plans to celebrate a major reduction in its carbon footprint.
The Massachusetts college completed energy upgrades to its campus facilities that will significantly reduce its consumption of electricity and natural gas, resulting in a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions by 672 tons annually and an estimated savings in utility costs of nearly $200,000 a year.
“The energy upgrades are already paying off,” said Bill Fogarty, vice president of administration and finance.
LGBTQ scholarships awarded
Point Foundation, the nation’s most prominent scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students, has expanded its Community College Scholarship Program, thanks to continued support from Wells Fargo. Twenty-five students from community colleges across the country — most of whom are first-generation college students — will receive the grants.
“Given the volatile political climate and its implications for trans rights, immigrant rights, gender issues, and civil liberties, it is essential that we continue to invest in the next generation of LGBTQ leaders,” Jorge Valencia, executive director and CEO of Point Foundation, said in a statement. “By helping them to access the higher education they need to succeed, we can assure promising LGBTQ students are poised to become the change makers we so desperately need.”
