In Illinois, Highland Community College’s agriculture program received $5,000 from Adkins Energy. Highland will use the donation to support the update and expansion of its agriculture program training and research facility, which includes new machinery for the research plot, renovating a classroom space into an ag science lab and purchasing technological equipment for classroom use.
“Training students to be proficient in the science and technology of today’s agriculture industry requires investing in cutting-edge technology and equipment. Doing so is not cheap, but the benefits of competent graduates entering our local agricultural workforce far outweigh the costs,” said agriculture instructor Monica Pierce said.
Alabama
Calhoun Community College recently received a $147,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to strengthen and expand the college’s aerospace welding program by establishing a new welding skills lab at Calhoun’s Huntsville/Cummings Research Park campus. According to the grant proposal, the program will allow the college to help meet the growing demand for skilled welders in the region by providing training for dual-enrollment and adult students to enter the advanced manufacturing workforce. The funds will help to purchase state-of-the-art technology, equipment and software.
Florida
Broward College President Emeritus J. David Armstrong, Jr., announced that he will donate $200,000 toward two initiatives for students and the college. Armstrong committed $100,000 to Broward’s new Student Venture Fund, which will provide seed money for students with innovative business ideas. The second $100,000 will be used to establish “The Armstrong Fund,” a donor-designated fund supporting college initiatives, such as the American Dream Scholarship. Such initiatives give deserving students who otherwise may not have access to a college the resources to attend.
Armstrong announced his donation last month at his final board meeting at Broward’s president.
“I will always be an advocate and supporter of Broward College and this donation is a token of my ongoing commitment. My greatest passion is seeing the success of our students and I am happy to be able to leave a tangible legacy beyond being president,” he said.
Northwest Florida State College welding students will benefit from a recent gift of equipment from National Boiler Service. The college received several machining items including pumps, motors, flanges and couplings, estimated in value at $9,903.
Maryland
College of Southern Maryland (CSM) was presented with $20,000 from the Community Bank of the Chesapeake (CBTC). It’s part of the bank’s five-year pledge to fund an endowment fund and an annual scholarship fund.
“Our ongoing support of the College of Southern Maryland is unwavering,” CBTC Chief Operating Officer Jim Di Misa said in a release. Di Misa also serves on the CSM board and is the trustee representative to the CSM Foundation. “We value the educational opportunities this partnership brings to the students and families in our community,” he added.
Ohio
Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) has received $70,000 through the AT&T Aspire initiative to support the college’s Hispanic Scholarship Fund and create educational opportunities for Hispanic students. The contribution was presented at Tri-C’s annual Hispanic Scholarship Luncheon in late July. More than 70 Hispanic students received scholarships during the luncheon.
Wisconsin
Kitrina Carlson supervises a student in a Madison College biology lab. (Photo: Madison College)
Madison Area Technical College will help to meet the needs of Wisconsin’s growing bioscience industry thanks to a three-year, $395,495 National Science Foundation grant. Grant-funded activities will give biology students practical laboratory skills and experience, help them envision various careers and motivate them to continue their education.
“Through this new program we are offering our liberal arts biology students new opportunities and creating pathways for them to have STEM career success from the associate level and beyond,” said Kitrina Carlson, botany instructor and principle investigator for the grant. “We are creating a pathway for liberal arts students to gain career-focused skills.”
The NSF grant will allow the college to hire an internship coordinator. In addition, faculty will embed research experiences into the Madison College biology courses.
