New Jersey’s Ocean County College (OCC) will use a $3.75 million grant from the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation to support health sciences programs. A portion of the donation ($2.5 million) was given as an endowment to grant scholarships to health sciences students. The remaining $1.25 million will support healthcare programs in the college’s new H. Hovnanian Health Sciences Building, which will be able to serve as many as 800 students.
“The new H. Hovnanian Health Sciences Building will help promote the health sciences, allowing Ocean County College to expand its program offerings to include not only nursing but the allied health curricula,” OCC President Jon H. Larson said in a release.
Alabama
Calhoun Community College is celebrating a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. The funding will help to build an automotive technology program facility on Calhoun’s Decatur campus. According to grantee estimates, the project is expected to create 219 jobs, and generate $32 million in private investment.
Students who train at the facility will gain the entry-level skills necessary to enter into the automotive service and repair industry. The college broke ground last year for the 23,400 square-foot, approximately $7 million facility. Construction is expected to begin later this year.
Connecticut
Norwalk Community College (NCC) has received a $224,999 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop initiatives to close the gender gap in engineering occupations and encourage more women to study engineering in college. As part of the grant project, NCC will develop and implement strategies for recruiting and retaining females in engineering and engineering technology (E&ET) programs, and will facilitate professional development for faculty and staff. And, to boost success rates for female students, NCC plans to design and deliver a contextualized intermediate Algebra course, which is often an entry point for engineering students.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) will expand its automotive technician program with the help of a $500,000 contribution from JPMorgan Chase. The expansion allowed for the addition of the Honda Professional Automotive Career Training (PACT) program.
The two-year Honda PACT program offers students seeking a career in the automotive field the opportunity to earn wages while working toward a college degree. At OCCC, the program is entering the second year. All of the students who started the program are expected to complete graduation in spring 2019.
“The graduates of the program will enter Oklahoma’s workforce as highly skilled professionals which offers a much better potential for a prosperous future for them and their families,” OCCC President Jerry Steward said in a release.
Virginia
Paul D. Camp Community College (PDCCC) received $24,000 from Birdsong Trust Fund for a new medical program. PDCCC’s Fast Track Healthcare Program, starting this fall, will prepare students for jobs as clinical medical assistants, phlebotomy technicians and EKG technicians.
West Virginia
Blue Ridge Community and Technical College will use a $5,000 grant from the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation’s Tom and Virginia Seely Morgan County Children’s Fund to support the Morgan County High School Seniors Textbook Program.
“Our discounted high school tuition rate, paired with the Morgan County High School Seniors Textbook Program, provides early access to higher education for Morgan County students. This grant award develops our community and assists in increasing the college-going rate in Morgan County.” Blue Ridge CTC Founding President Peter Checkovich said.
Wisconsin
Nicolet College was recently awarded nearly $1 million in competitive state grants from the Wisconsin Technical College System. The college applied for 11 grants and, for the second straight year, was awarded 100-percent funding for each application that was submitted.
The grants will allow the college to expand the newly structured Nicolet My Way welding program, which also will serve five area high schools. Nicolet College will offer additional college preparation workshops, more support for students taking online classes, additional tutoring for students, financial guidance and assistance, and career planning and development services.
“Every dollar helps students reach their goals and learn the skills they need for successful careers,” Nicolet College President Richard Nelson said.
