College of Southern Maryland (CSM) received a total of $6,700 from the Community Foundation of Southern Maryland (CFOSMD) on behalf of three funds. CFOSMD funds a $5,000 Opportunity Grant Fund annually. It’s given to one CSM student each year to help cover tuition and fees.
The Sisters at Heart Fund provided $1,500 in support of the Roberta Kieliger Sisters at Heart Scholarship, which benefits students in the healthcare field, with a preference to students who are cancer survivors or family members of those who have battled cancer. The Southern Maryland Women’s League gave $200 in support of the Peter Cangelosi Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Colorado
Front Range Community College (FRCC) will use a $2.2 million U.S. Department of Education grant to help more low-income students. FRCC will work to strengthen orientation and advising for new students, increase academic support in math courses and improve the use of technology. It also will use the funds for staff professional development.
FRCC is part of the American Association of Community Colleges’ Pathways Project. Receiving the grant is a “validation of our student success plan. Grant reviewers clearly thought that we had a compelling, well-organized approach to helping students,” President Andy Dorsey said.
Illinois
Carl Sandburg College has been awarded a five-year, $1.3 million Upward Bound Math and Science grant through the U.S. Education Department to help focus and encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The grant will serve 60 high school students from area school districts annually.
“Investing in STEM programs and helping students develop an interest in those areas at a young age is essential for the next generation. This grant will expose participants to possible careers in STEM fields and better prepare them to enter into these majors,” Misty Lyon, dean of student success, said in a release.
Tennessee
Jackson State will create a robotics training center to better serve west Tennessee employers.
Jackson State Community College will receive about $175,000 to buy equipment and create a unique robotics training center for manufacturing students and workers at companies in west Tennessee. The funding allows Jackson State to become a certified trainer for FANUC robots – the primary brand used by manufacturers throughout the region. The college will be the only certified trainer in the Mid-South.
“It gives us one more thing to attract companies to the area and help existing companies upgrade their workforce,” said Jack Laser, Jackson State’s director of workforce development.
The college has one certified FANUC trainer and plans to add another. The training program will be added next year.
The project is a partnership with the Southwest Tennessee Development District, which serves an eight-county region and will administer a grant from the Delta Regional Authority.
Texas
Houston Community College’s will be able to help small businesses in its community thanks to a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). The grant enables HCC to assist small, minority-owned businesses pursue contracts specifically for the rebuilding of areas ravaged by Hurricane Harvey.
“It’s all about making connections to opportunities and being prepared to seize them,” HCC Chief Entrepreneurial Officer Maya Durnovo said in a release. “We will help small businesses connect with contracts to rebuild the city and assist businesses to become primary contractors as they grow.”
