Funding roundup

Pellissippi State Community College’s Ruth and Steve West Workforce Development Center won’t open until 2021, but funding is pouring in. Blount Memorial Hospital presented the college with a $100,000 donation. (Photo: PSCC)

Tennessee’s Pellissippi State Community College gained more support for its Ruth and Steve West Workforce Development Center. The Blount Memorial Hospital board of directors has pledged $100,000 to help build the center on the college’s Blount County Campus.

“The role that Pellissippi State is playing in helping to develop a versatile workforce in our community is so important to our community’s future and the continued economic development we want to see in Blount County,” said Robert Redwine, president of the Blount Memorial Hospital board of directors.

The college’s foundation is raising money for the $16.5 million to build the 53,000-square-foot building, which will be used by both the college and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville.

Colorado

Front Range Community College (FRCC) will use a $50,000 donation from the Ball Foundation to provide scholarships for advanced manufacturing students. The funds will support 20 to 30 students training at FRCC’s new Center for Integrated Manufacturing.

FRCC has created three new programs to give students the hands-on training they need to work in modern high-tech manufacturing. These programs also address employers’ needs for more skilled workers.

“This substantial donation will help close the skills gap and build Colorado’s workforce,” said Nicole Gervace, FRCC’s advanced manufacturing program coordinator. “These scholarships help our students reach their career goals.”

Florida

Charlotte and Bo Arnold

Northwest Florida State College received a $25,000 pledge from foundation board member Bo Arnold and wife, Charlotte, to establish an endowment to provide scholarships to students who have financial need, with first priority given to students enrolled in a visual arts concentration or in fine arts courses.

Georgia

Augusta Technical College will strengthen its relationship with the military community using a $60,000 Defense Community Economic Development Fund Grant from the Technical College System of Georgia.

The college will help match military spouses with jobs through such initiatives as a Military Spouse Economic Empowerment Zone (MSEEZ) in collaboration with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes.  An MSEEZ provides unemployment and underemployment military spouses with workshops to help them gain employment skills, trains employers on how/why to hire military spouses, and advocates for this population to hiring managers and local civic leaders.

ATC also will organize military spouse job fairs and host a two-day intensive career program for military spouse professionals.

“Augusta Technical College is already proficient at building bridges to a successful college experience for nontraditional students and first-generation college students, and we stand ready to expand our services to military students and their families,” said President Terry Elam.

Kentucky

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC) received a $50,000 donation from Magnolia Bank to support the development of a University Center.

The new center will bring multiple university partners to Elizabethtown while making higher education more accessible and affordable. University partners will offer bachelor’s and master’s degree programs that align with the needs of local employers.

“The cost savings offered by the University Center will not only provide an alternative for students to continue their education with less debt, but it will also help us keep local talent local,” said Deena London, Magnolia Bank’s president and CEO.

North Carolina

Wayne Community College grew its scholarship funding recently with two donations. The Sunrise Kiwanis Club’s Scholarship Committee presented a $1,000 donation. The college also received $1,000 from Michelle Gay, a pediatric dental assistant and the community relations specialist for Smith & Adams Family Dentistry. Gay’s donation will go into the college’s dental endowment to help dental assisting and hygiene students.

Wisconsin

Moraine Park Technical College received a $5,000 donation from Countryside Auto Group to benefit the college’s Promise program. The Moraine Park Promise program offers five consecutive semesters of debt-free college tuition. Additional support services include mentoring, tutoring, career guidance, financial aid workshops and counseling to low-income students.

Countryside also donated $7,500 in 2018.

About the Author

Tabitha Whissemore
Tabitha Whissemore is a contributor to Community College Daily and managing editor of AACC's Community College Journal.
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