The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) has secured nearly $2.5 million in federal funding to finance improvements throughout the district.
The largest appropriation, nearly $1.5 million, is earmarked for building family-friendly study centers to support student parents. In addition to a computer lab and study spaces, the centers will feature a playroom, nursing area, small kitchen, family-friendly restrooms and an outdoor playground.
Approximately $500,000 will go toward renovating Miramar College’s School of Public Safety and its Police Academy. The facility serves as the region’s police officer training hub for most of law enforcement agencies in San Diego County. An additional $500,000 will allow for long-overdue upgrades of restrooms at the Educational Cultural Complex.
Iowa
Iowa Western Community College will receive $500,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Aviation Maintenance Technical Workforce Development program.
The college is one of 32 schools nationwide to receive $13.5 million in FAA grants to help attract and train students for careers as pilots and aviation maintenance technicians.
“The FAA grant program will enable Iowa Western to expand its aviation maintenance program and provide valuable education in a highly skilled career field,” said Jenny Kruger, vice president of academic affairs at Iowa Western. Our focus will be on training the next generation of aviation maintenance professionals and filling the much-needed workforce pool.”
Two other Iowa community colleges received FAA funding: Indian Hills Community College ($302,816) and Iowa Lakes Community College ($493,657).
Massachusetts
Seven Massachusetts community colleges received state grants to purchase automatic external defibrillators (AED) for emergency response vehicles. The recipients are:
- Berkshire Community College
- Bristol Community College
- MassBay Community College
- Middlesex Community College
- Northern Essex Community College
- Quinsigamond Community College
- Springfield Technical Community College
The colleges were among 80 Massachusetts municipalities, higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations to receive the funding to help increase access to this lifesaving equipment. The average grant was around $2,000.
Missouri
The St. Louis Community College (STLCC) Foundation is establishing the Endowed Scholarship Fund for Photographic Arts thanks to a $100,000 gift from anonymous donors. The gift was made to honor David Hanlon, a professor in STLCC’s department of design.
The donors are accomplished photographers who began their careers when taking several photography courses at STLCC-Meramec. STLCC students who are earning an associate in fine arts degree in photography and meet certain academic requirements will be eligible for the scholarship.
“Most of the students in our program are working and paying their own bills while trying to save for tuition and the costs of paper and studio materials,” Hanlon said. “This new scholarship will greatly ease their academic burden, allowing more of their attention and energies to be directed toward pursuing new visual ideas and learning how to effectively utilize the medium in a variety of ways.”
Pennsylvania
A $20,000 grant will support four community-service projects at Butler County Community College (BC3). The projects are intended to be led or assisted by BC3 students.
BC3 was selected to receive the grant funded by the Allstate Foundation and managed by the Center for Expanding Leadership, a nonprofit organization among whose goals is to advance youth-led, youth-driven community service.
One of the first projects at BC3 will be Stronger Together, a fitness event for intellectually and developmentally challenged individuals. The grant also will fund a donation drive to support parents in need, a community organic garden and a free junior fire cadet program.
“These students are doing something that will immediately help the local community,” said Case Willoughby, BC3’s vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. “That is important on its own. But the potential is that BC3 students who are involved in this will start to see themselves as people who can make a positive impact in their community.”
South Carolina
The Gene Haas Foundation has a $500,000 donation to Tri-County Technical College’s (TCTC) foundation on to support the college’s computer numerical controls (CNC) programming and operations program and its CNC advanced manufacturing lab at the Industrial Technology Center.
The CNC lab is now named the Gene Haas Advanced Manufacturing Lab. The Haas Foundation is a long-time supporter of TCTC’s manufacturing programs, and this is the company’s most generous gift to date. Since 2015, it has donated $465,000 in support of CNC student scholarships and certifications, bringing ts giving total to nearly $1 million.
Wisconsin
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College’s electro-mechanical technology program has received a $7,500 grant for scholarships from 3M. The company’s Manufacturing and Academic Partnerships (MAP) program has provided the annual gift amount since 201.
“This gift from 3M will go a long way to helping our students access a brighter future,” said Angie Herting, director of development and major gifts. “The scholarships we will be offering, thanks to 3M, will make a significant impact for our students and rural workforce vitality.”
Southwest Tech’s electro-mechanical technology program provides students with a comprehensive education in mechatronics so they can excel in the manufacturing industry.
The 3M MAP program was designed to address the growing challenge of a shortage of skilled trade workers. The program’s primary objective is to bridge the gap between the retiring workforce and the incoming generation of skilled trade workers.
