Palm Beach State College (PBSC) has received $1 million from TMRW Sports, a sports, media and entertainment company. TMRW plans to build a high-tech golf league on the Palm Beach Gardens campus.
The gift was announced during a February 21 celebration of the new partnership between PBSC and TMRW Sports, which was co-founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and sports executive Mike McCarley. The celebration was held on the parcel of land where construction of a 135,000-square-foot venue for the league, launched in partnership with the PGA Tour, will begin this year.
The $1 million will establish the TMRW Sports Fund through the Foundation for Palm Beach State College to benefit students and programs, ensuring scholarships, academic program development, general project support, internships and career development opportunities for students. In addition, the partnership provides for guest lectures, academic teaching support and keynote speakers, including professional sports figures and celebrities from a variety of media.
TMRW intends to introduce the opportunity to its partners to secure matching gifts.
Arizona
With a $1.4 million U.S. Department of Education grant, Pima Community College will support low-income and first-generation high school students interested in STEM.
The five-year grant is for the TRiO Upward Bound Math and Science Program, which will be based at Pima’s Desert Vista Campus. The program will have activities during the academic year and over the summer, including a summer bridge program for recent high school graduates. The goal is to boost student academic achievement and provide students with the knowledge, skills and motivation to graduate high school and succeed in college.
CCBA grant
The Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA) has received funds to scale up community college baccalaureate degrees across the country. The funding announcements were made during CCBA’s recent national conference.
A $500,000 grant from ECMC Foundation will allow CCBA to expand community college baccalaureate (CCB) degrees across the nation. Additionally, a $50,000 gift from Ascendium Education Group will support CCBA’s work to research a national, standardized quality framework that will become a template design for future CCB programs.
“With Ascendium’s funding and ECMC’s second year of generous support, we will continue to explore promising practices as we advance the CCB movement to expand access to affordable community college baccalaureate degrees,” said CCBA President Angela Kersenbrock
CCBA is an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges.
Missouri
A $500,000 federal grant to St. Louis Community College (STLCC) through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Jobs Training Grant program will allow the college to train 88 students and place at least 63 of them in environmental jobs.
STLCC’s training program includes more than 220 hours of instruction in areas such as hazardous waste, health and safety, mold remediation and lead and asbestos abatement. The program is focused on recruiting students who are unemployed or underemployed, and veterans or who have justice system involvement. STLCC provides the training free of charge.
“We’re proud to provide such critical environmental education, training and job placement opportunities for area residents, while also supporting the EPA’s mission of protecting the overall health of the community and the environment,” said Phyllis Ellison, associate vice chancellor of STLCC’s Workforce Solutions Group.
New York
Hostos Community College will use a $150,000 grant from Libra Group Social Responsibility to support the Hostos Family Empowerment Program (FEP).
Since its establishment in 2013, the FEP has mostly supported financial needs of student-parents through referrals to external organizations and internally donated items. The program offers structured advising, solidarity, counseling and community-building.
With the new Libra grant, the program can provide more direct assistance, helping students to afford childcare, books, MetroCards and more, as well as cultural experiences and educational workshops. Libra also will sponsor up to 10 students on a trip to Washington, D.C., this year to visit cultural sites and meet with executives and staff at Libra Group’s D.C. office.
The new funding also will be used for the college foundation’s 55th anniversary gala and additional student educational experiences.
North Carolina
Drucilla Russell is honoring the memory of her parents, Rogers and Rita Shelton, by helping students at Southwestern Community College (SCC). With an unspecified donation, she and her husband, Barry Russell, have established the Rogers and Rita Shelton Memorial Endowed Scholarship.
“SCC runs deep into my roots and into my blood, and into Barry’s as well,” Russell said. “When Mom and Dad passed away within four months of each other in 2018, it became obvious that this would be a nice way to honor them – to endow a scholarship at an institution and in a community that has been so important to us.”
She had worked at SCC (then Southwestern Technical College) from 1984 to 1998, serving in admissions, counseling, student support services and public information. Her husband served as SCC’s president from 1991 to 1996.
The Russells also were major donors to the SCC Foundation’s Student Success Campaign, which in 2017 established the first million-dollar endowment in college history.
