In Illinois, Rock Valley College (RVC) received a $675,000 grant from the Dr. Louis and Violet Rubin Endowment of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois. The purpose of the grant is to link talent with opportunity in the region.
RVC, working with Highland Community College, district high schools and area businesses, has developed a pathways model. It gives high school students an opportunity to earn college credit that will have them college, career and life ready.
“This grant is one piece towards the ultimate goal of creating a ‘culture of education,’” said Rock Valley College board of trustees member Lynn Kearney. “That this will also provide valuable work for individuals as well as the community is truly the symbiotic relationship education provides.”
RVC also received a $20,000 donation from the Fastener Education Foundation for the college’s Cold Forming Training Center. The donation will help with instructional materials, machinery maintenance, student recruitment and the marketing of the center. FEF also donated $25,000 in June.
Alabama
Three Gadsden State Community College programs have had U.S. Department of Education grants renewed. A $250,000 Strengthening Historically Black Colleges or Universities grant will help to continue to “improve academic quality, institutional management, student services and fiscal stability,” Title III Director Kassie Mathis said. In the past, the grant has helped fund technology initiatives, such as a laptop loan program.
The Upward Bound program received a $263,938 grant in its first year of a five-year grant cycle. The program supports students — particularly low-income and first-generation students — in their preparation for college entrance.
And Veterans Upward Bound program funding was renewed. The college received $290,493 for the first year of the five-year grant.
“Veterans Upward Bound is designed to motivate and assist veterans in the development of academic and other requisite skills necessary for acceptance and success in a program of postsecondary education,” said Sharon Lancaster, interim program director.
Louisiana
Delgado Community College’s guided hospitality career pathways program will benefit from a $1.19 million from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The pathways program will allow students to progress through Delgado’s culinary and hospitality programs while earning both short- and long-term credentials.
As part of the program, Delgado will incorporate culinary and hospitality content into developmental education courses in math, reading and English. The college also is developing a bridge program that would include academic instruction, technical skills instruction and advising.
Maryland
Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) will become smoke-free, with the help of a $20,000 grant from the Truth Initiative Tobacco-Free College Program. With the funds, BCCC will assist students, faculty and staff with smoking cessation and tobacco risk education.
The college will hold tobacco-free educational events and will hire two student interns to coordinate tobacco-free projects. Marketing materials will be developed to encourage students to stop smoking and learn about the risks of tobacco and other smoking products.
North Carolina
Davidson County Community College’s food pantry will help more students thanks to a $3,000 donation from Publix Super Market Charities. In a survey, more than 60 percent of DCCC reported experiencing food insecurity at some point in their lives. The plan is to use the funds to purchase non-perishable food items for the pantry.
“We don’t want hunger to be a barrier for a student to get his or her education,” Lynne Watts, director of student life and leadership, said in a release.
Washington
Spokane Falls Community College (SFCC) students have a new engineering scholarship opportunity thanks to a $649,790 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. The funds are targeted at supporting low-income students from groups underrepresented in the engineering field — ethnic minorities, women and students from rural areas.
Thirty-six engineering students will receive scholarships. The grant also will expand access to support services and includes outreach to high schools to recruit academically motivated low-income students. SFCC is partnering with Eastern Washington University to engage junior and senior-level engineering students as peer mentors to first-year community college students with a year-long robotics design project.
