Massachusetts’ Holyoke Community College (HCC) can expand its catalog of Learning Community (LC) courses, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). These inter-institutional courses are offered in partnership with Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, Bay Path University, UMass-Amherst and Tangshan Normal University in China. The courses combine two classes from distinct academic areas focusing on a common subject or theme. HCC has the oldest LC program in Massachusetts and is still one of only a handful of colleges in the state, public or private, that offers them.
The five new courses will each be co-taught by an HCC instructor and an instructor from one of its partner institutions. Students from both institutions are eligible to enroll, and the classes will meet on each campus, with the exception of the LC with China, where students from both countries will “meet” and collaborate online. One new course is “Red and White America: Native Responses to European Contact,” which will pair an English professor from HCC with a professor of Native American History at Bay Path.
The NEH grant funding also means HCC can offer free or reduced tuition to students who enroll in those classes.
The grant was matched in part by the college.
New Jersey
Hudson County Community College (HCCC) is the recipient of a five-year, $413,938 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that will benefit low-income, academically talented students who are pursuing associate degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. These students will receive, annually, $4,000 scholarships and academic support.
HCCC is partnering with Rutgers University–Newark on this program, which is designed to encourage success, persistence and transfer to STEM baccalaureate programs after earning their associate degrees.
New Jersey’s Essex County College and Passaic County Community College also received this grant.
New York
Nassau Community College (NCC) will work to preserve community history using a $49,000 Long Island Community History Initiative Grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. Two NCC professors, Georgette Grier-Key and Stephanie Sapiie, received the grant. They will engage students, the public, local historical societies and others during the three-year project. The grant provides space and resources for participants to record oral history, scan family documents and help preserve personal collections and family genealogy for public access.
In addition, each semester and summer, NCC will host cultural events that will create opportunities for service learning and independent study.
“This historical grant is a unique opportunity for faculty, students and the community we serve to preserve, protect and celebrate our shared history here on Long Island. This project will make NCC a premier destination for historical preservation for Long Island,” NCC President W. Hubert Keen said in a release.
Wisconsin
Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) will use a $2 million donation to enhance and expand its Integrated Manufacturing Center (IMC). The donation comes from former Signicast Corporation president and owner, Walter (Terry) Lutz.
Walter (Terry) Lutz, former Signicast Corporation president and owner, donated $2 million to WCTC. (Photo: WCTC)
“Manufacturing is crucial to the success of the United States and the American dream,” Lutz said in a release. “For manufacturing to succeed it needs employees with skills in tool making, maintenance, machining and welding. Technical colleges like WCTC provide students with the skills they need to prosper in manufacturing.”
In recognition of the donation, the IMC and adjacent building will be named the Terry Lutz Integrated Manufacturing Center.
The Lutz Family Foundation also plans to commit $600,000 toward the purchase of new training equipment and in February, the foundation donated $188,000 to purchase equipment for the college’s automation systems technology/robotics program.
While at Signicast, Lutz hired many WCTC graduates.
“At Signicast, I had a firsthand view of the skills required of employees who wish to become leaders in manufacturing. WCTC does an outstanding job teaching those skills to its students,” Lutz said.
