In Missouri, State Fair Community College (SFCC) is the beneficiary of the home and real estate of Dr. Harold F. Daum, a late retired radiologist and founder of SFCC’s Daum Museum of Contemporary Art. The acreage, home and outbuildings are valued at $837,000. Daum died in 2015 at the age of 92. His gift to the college stipulated that the property be sold, with the proceeds added to the existing Daum Art Acquisition Endowment, which is managed by SFCC’s foundation and designed to fund art purchases. Last year, the endowment produced about $79,000 for acquiring artworks for the permanent collection.
Daum donated $500,000 to the SFCC Foundation in 1999 to establish the endowment. He donated $2.25 million toward construction of the museum, which opened in 2002, as well as his considerable personal art collection.
“A significant outcome of his legacy is the role the museum plays in introducing generations of rural Missouri children to contemporary art. Dr. Daum has made sure that they can experience some of the best art created anywhere at a very early age,” Thomas Piché, Jr., director of the Daum Museum, said in a release.
Illinois
Heartland Community College’s Challenger Learning Center (CLC) will add robotics to its educational experiences thanks to a $5,000 donation from Nicor Gas. The robots will be programmable and transportable, and used to teach coding. They also can be used to mimic the work Nicor Gas does.
Nicor Gas donated $5,000 to HCC’s Challenger Learning Center.
“Nicor Gas is all about natural resources and they use robots to help locate natural gas,” CLC Flight Director Susan Evens said in a release. “To simulate this and the work of NASA, we’ll have students use their robot to try and locate natural resources on Earth and other planets.”
CLC’s goal is to engage learners with hands-on activities in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math).
Louisiana
Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) will be able to serve more area high school students thanks to two federal grants. A $1.6-million grant means the college can continue its Upward Bound TRIO program. The second grant, in the amount of approximately $1.3 million, allows for the expansion of a program helping college-bound students. Through the grants, BRCC will provide students the necessary instruction, tutoring, advising and assistance with applying for financial aid and college.
Pennsylvania
Community College of Allegheny County is partnering on a workforce initiative that will lead to the construction of a Workforce Training Center on the college’s Allegheny Campus. The state awarded a $10 million grant to cover half of the annual capital cost of a 20-year, $20 million bond. The rest will be funded locally.
The center will provide training in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields such as cybersecurity, autonomous technology, process technology, plastic technology and additive manufacturing. There also will be training for those pursuing work as an EMT or nurse aide, and the center will feature a new culinary school.
The initiative was announced at an event with Gov. Tom Wolf, CCAC President Quinton Bullock, CCAC Board of Trustees Chairman Frederick Thieman and other college and county officials.
“This state and local partnership will create a new hub of training for generations of students to get the STEM training and other skills that local employers need to compete in the 21st century economy,” Wolf said. “Projects like this are critical to enabling the workers and economy of Pittsburgh to continue growing and I am committed to supporting these quality education programs and a growing business climate in the region.”
