Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced in November a $1.8 million award to the Maryland Association of Community Colleges and company BCR Cyber to bolster Maryland’s cybersecurity talent pipeline. The funding will help empower the state’s 16 community colleges to offer experiential training through new cyber ranges.
“Maryland’s pathway to national leadership in cybersecurity runs through our community colleges,” Moore said during the announcement at Howard Community College, which boasts the first operational cyber range on a Maryland community college campus.
The new funding was made possible by a new Talent Innovation Fund and was secured with help from Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen.
Over the three-year grant period, more than 1,100 prospective cybersecurity professionals will have access to cyber range training. The project will focus on providing opportunity to individuals who are typically underrepresented in the industry, including women and people of color.
“This investment solidifies Maryland community colleges as a national leader on cyber and workforce development,” said Brad Phillips, executive director of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges.
Alabama
Leidos has made a $1.75 million donation to Drake State Community & Technical College, creating new learning opportunities for students and allowing them to gain hands-on experience with technical and manufacturing projects. In recognition of this gift, Drake State will name its new advanced manufacturing facility the Leidos Advanced Training Complex.
The gift will help fund advanced manufacturing and IT programs, student apprenticeships, campus technical and infrastructure upgrades, a new scholarship endowment and faculty development opportunities.
“Through this collaboration with Drake State, we are not only investing in the future leaders of our industry but also supporting an institution that has a long history of nurturing talent, innovation and excellence in Black communities,” said Leidos CEO Tom Bell.
The donation builds on the announcement earlier this year that Drake State has become a Leidos subcontractor, supporting critical IT solutions and NASA end-user services.
California
The Equitable AI Alliance – a collaboration between San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) – received a $1.5 million AI Grand Challenge grant from the California Education Learning Lab.
The grants support California higher education institutions promoting responsible AI use on campus, with special attention to bridging equity gaps that disproportionately affect students from historically underrepresented communities, according to a press release.
The Equitable AI Alliance was launched this year as a way for the partners to pool their AI resources, giving students, faculty and staff equal access to a wider variety of AI tools and training and increasing their potential for skill-building in the AI space.
In fall 2023, SDSU launched its inaugural AI student survey, gathering data about the needs and tendencies related to students’ AI use. Following a second survey, nearly 18,000 students have been surveyed to date. The alliance will help expand this survey to UC San Diego and SDCCD campuses, which will lead to a better understanding of how to best serve different student and staff populations and prioritize those most impacted by inequity.
Expanded survey data also will guide the alliance as it grows its inventory of literacy training programs and resources.
New Jersey
The New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) has awarded $1.2 million in Hunger-Free Campus Act grants to 34 higher education institutions – including many community colleges.
Program applications increased by 150% this funding cycle amid OSHE estimates from a spring 2024 survey suggesting more than one in three New Jersey students lack consistent access to adequate food resources.
Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) is one of the community college grantees, receiving $56,250. It will use the funding to expand food pantry services by offering perishable items on scheduled days each month throughout the semester.
Oregon
Umpqua Community College (UCC) has received a $500,000 Manufacturing Workforce Ready Grant from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to support the Career Ready Umpqua Initiative, which aims to prepare students from rural and low-income communities for careers in advanced manufacturing.
UCC will partner with local employers and public K-12 schools to provide students from all grade levels with opportunities to participate in skills workforces, mentorships, workplace tours and paid internships.
South Carolina
A $10,000 donation to Piedmont Technical College (PTC) will support the Grey Hamlett Welding Scholarship, named after a graduate of PTC’s welding program.
Grey Hamlett died at age 22 in a motor vehicle accident in 2021, about a year after completing the program. The scholarship was created a few months later by his family and friends.
The most recent donation was presented by Hamlett’s mother, Cynthia Hamlett-Dorsey, and his stepfather, Terry Dorsey.
PTC also received a $10,000 donation from Lonza, a manufacturing company. The donation allowed 55 young men participating in PTC’s MODELS Academy program to attend a University of South Carolina football game last month.
MODELS Academy works to improve success rates of African-American males in grades four through 12. MODELS is an acronym that stands for Men of Distinction becoming Elite Leaders and community Servants.
“Attending this game is more than a fun outing for these young men – it is an inspiring opportunity for them to see the college experience firsthand,” said PTC President Hope E. Rivers. “This experience will help MODELS participants picture themselves on a college campus, motivating them to make the decision to pursue higher education after high school.”
