Minnesota’s Northland Community and Technical College (NCTC), in partnership with St. Cloud State University, has received a $600,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant. The institutions will work to advance geospatial information technology and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) education and training.
“Amazing opportunities are created when industry and education become partners to advance a skilled workforce. The NSF ATE community fosters these partnerships, leading to engaging technical education,” Jonathan Beck, UAS instructor and program manager at NCTC, said in a release.
The three-year project will focus on developing new capabilities in geographic information science at both institutions and creating educational pathways through dual enrollment and 2+2 articulation agreements for NCTC students.
Florida
Miami Dade College (MDC) and Florida International University (FIU) are working together to better support humanities students after receiving a three-year, $2.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The grant project focuses on streamlining curricula for students on the MDC-to-FIU path. It’s also aimed at attracting more students to humanities fields and fostering more collaboration between MDC and FIU humanities faculty.
Maryland
Howard Community College’s (HCC) Children’s Learning Center (CLC) has received $11,000 grant from the PNC Foundation grant, which will help fund a playground upgrade. It also will benefit HCC students in various programs who are working in partnership with the CLC to design the playground and create curriculum. The college will use some funding to enhance its early childhood education program, as well.
Massachusetts
A donation to MassBay Community College will benefit cybersecurity students. (Photo: MassBay)
Massachusetts Bay Community College can support more cybersecurity students thanks to a $10,000 donation from this year’s annual Information Security Summit. The summit was established in 2013 to help professionals advance their programs and knowledge base on the latest network security and technology issues. The proceeds from the summit go toward scholarships for students studying cybersecurity.
Michigan
Muskegon Community College’s (MCC) Downtown Center is getting renamed in honor of an area couple who donated a record $1.5 million. The center will be named the Carolyn I. and Peter Sturrus Technology Center.
“I am doing this for the love of Muskegon and the love of Muskegon Community College,” Peter Sturrus said. He was the longtime president of Michigan’s Shape Corp. and once took classes at MCC while beginning his career as a tool-and-die maker.
Sturrus’ wife, Carolyn Iversen Sturrus, served as assistant to the president of MCC for more than 30 years.
The $14.2 million, 85,000-square-foot Technology Center houses MCC’s applied technology programs.
Ohio
Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) has received an Upward Bound grant of nearly $264,000 from the U.S. Department of Education. Through the Upward Bound Math and Science Program, Tri-C can provide year-round support to help low-income students improve math and science scores in preparation for college.
