The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) recently received a check for nearly $2 million in federal funding for improvements to the Family Resource Center at San Diego Mesa College and the Miramar College Police Academy.
“This much-needed funding will help build family-friendly study centers across SDCCD and update Miramar College’s aging School of Public Safety. I’m so excited to see all the good this funding will do to support our students and their dreams,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-California), who helped secure the community project funding as part of the fiscal year 2024 federal budget.
Nearly $1.47 million will benefit student parents at Mesa College. The recently opened Family Resource Center is an area for students to go with their children to study, attend student-parent workshops, and create community, according to the district. Funding will support the expansion of services through extended hours of operation, additional staff, and more supplies such as diapers and food.
And $500,000 will go toward updating the Miramar College Police Academy with new instructional equipment, fitness equipment and furniture, as well as a crime scene investigation room to better prepare cadets.
Georgia
Georgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC) has received a $347,688 Advanced Technological Education grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Strengthening High School Initiatives in Future Technology (SHIFT) grant is earmarked for future high school juniors and seniors in mechatronics classes at Georgia Piedmont.
GPTC is providing a one-year program that will allow high school students to earn two college technical certificates of credit by the time they graduate high school.
The SHIFT project will run for three years with grant money going toward equipment, faculty stipends and student support services. The college will recruit a total of 60 students into the program. The collaboration between GPTC and area high schools also means participating students will have one-on-one career exploration opportunities in mechatronics and other STEM-related fields.
Massachusetts
Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) will use a $51,968 state grant to create a new non-credit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) certificate program for faculty and staff. QCC has partnered with Anna Maria College, Middlesex Community College, Worcester State University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute to implement the program.
The objective of the DEI certificate program is to further higher education faculty and staff appreciation of the diverse backgrounds, histories and lived experiences students bring with them to better support their needs. The program will engage participants in advanced DEI thematic work led by trained instructors and will start this fall.
“By working together as a collective community, we are fostering an inclusive environment to meet the needs of diverse student populations in our region. This collaborative approach to educate faculty and staff will increase student recruitment and retention, improve classroom dialogue and advance student success,” QCC President Luis Pedraja said in a release.
The state awarded more than $1.3 million in Higher Education Innovation Fund grants to higher education institutions for projects that advance racial equity.
Nebraska
The student food pantry at Northeast Community College (NECC) got a boost with a $3,000 Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) Cares grant. The Northeast Food Pantry serves currently enrolled students at the college and students attending the University of Nebraska Medical Center-Norfolk campus.
The grant will help to purchase needed food and toiletries to supply the pantry for the students’ use.
Northeast Community College also has received an $851 donation from Big Red Restaurant and Sports Bar to support student success initiatives. The contribution represents a portion of all food purchased at Big Red fundraising event last month.
Big Red Manager Miranda Wieneke is a Northeast alumnus.
“As a Northeast graduate myself,” Wieneke said, “I am committed to ensuring that current and future students have the resources they need to succeed. Our team is proud to contribute to such a worthy cause.”
Texas
Kilgore College has received more than $215,000 from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) through a Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grant that will allow the college to buy and install equipment to give students hands-on training.
Specifically, Kilgore College will purchase an Anatomage Table and accompanying equipment for students studying radiologic science and anatomy and physiology.
“Incorporating this new educational tool into our radiologic science program will provide our students with invaluable hands-on experience, enhancing their understanding of human anatomy and medical imaging techniques in an interactive and engaging way,” said Courtney Akvan, radiologic science program director and instructor.
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Lone Star College has teamed with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HSLR) to create the Vocational Scholarship Program. HSLR has committed $45,000 in scholarship funding, which will support non-traditional students pursuing an associate degree or certificate in an approved technical field.
The Vocational Scholarship Program will offer financial assistance to students interested in earning a degree or certification in commercial truck driving, industrial diesel technology, physical therapy assistant and occupational therapy assistant.
