Several community colleges were awarded Susan Harwood federal safety and health training grants through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The grants will allow organizations to provide training to help workers and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, implement injury prevention measures, and understand their rights and responsibilities under the OSHA law.
El Paso Community College in Texas received $111,519 to provide chemical hazards/hazard communication training to 600 employers and workers in the general and construction industries. The training will focus on youths, minorities and those with low English proficiency.
South Carolina’s Greenville Technical College will use its grant funding to offer fall prevention training, while Mohawk Valley Community College (New York) will focus on warehousing hazards training for those in the warehousing industry. South Arkansas Community College’s personal protective equipment (PPE) training related to chemicals and petrochemicals will help small business contractors.
Other community college grant recipients include Harper College (Illinois) and Western Iowa Tech Community College.
In total, approximately $10.5 million in grant funding was awarded to 79 nonprofit organizations nationwide.
California
Riverside City College (RCC) will use a five-year, $1.7 million College and Career Access Pathways Grant from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office for its STEM/Nursing Health Science Pathway. RCC will recruit and educate underrepresented student groups to become nurses. College officials expect nearly 1,500 students from area high schools to participate through dual enrollment. Students will take one college course each semester, beginning in spring 2020 and additional RCC classes for a year after high school.
“The STEM/Nursing Pathway will introduce a career and industry focus for students beginning on the first day of the 9th grade and will continue throughout the six years of the program by infusing workplace skills and industry content into academic courses,” said Scott Herrick, associate professor in the life sciences department.
Elsewhere in California, the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) received a $5,000 donation from Hindu Charities for America (HC4A) to fund five scholarships for students in STEM-related fields at LACCD’s Harbor, Pierce and Valley colleges.
Massachusetts
Holyoke Community College (HCC) health science students will benefit from a $230,068 state grant to buy telehealth equipment and other medical training technology for the college’s Center for Health Education & Simulation. Most of the grant will go towards purchasing three medical simulators – a birthing simulator, pediatric simulator and tracheostomy simulator.
“It’s a really great infusion of dollars to help support our students as we move into all these different learning modalities,” said Clare Lamontagne, HCC dean of health sciences. “We’re really cutting edge to have this telehealth equipment.”
In addition, HCC will buy autoclaves, microscopes, vital signs monitors, IV simulators, sutures and more to enhance its medical assistant program.
Holyoke Community College nursing instructor Kara Moriarty with a student nurse in the HCC Center for Health Education & Simulation. (Photo: HCC)
Michigan
Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is partnering with Davenport University on a five-year, $4 million National Science Foundation grant to train and educate the next generation of cybersecurity experts. The funding will provide 28 students with scholarships to cover tuition and education-related fees and living expenses. Graduates are guaranteed a full-time cybersecurity role at a government entity. The scholarship covers the costs of a student’s junior or senior year at Davenport University. It also extends coverage to sophomores at GRCC.
As part of the program, participating students mentor local high school students looking to pursue a career in cybersecurity. Students also have opportunities to attend a national cybersecurity conference and complete a paid summer internship with a federal, state, local or tribal government organization.
South Carolina
Greenville Technical College (GTC) can enhance geriatric education for students thanks to a $4,150 donation from the Foundation for Geriatric Education. GTC will purchase a series of DVDs on dementia for nursing assistant students along with a geriatric simulator and teaching tools for physical therapist assistant and occupational therapy assistant students.
GTC also recently received a $17,500 gift from TD Charitable Foundation. The gift will allow the college’s Financial Education Center to celebrate Financial Literacy Week in October with activities and events to improve students’ financial knowledge and health. The gift also supports BudgetCon, simulation events to be held twice a year. During BudgetCon, students receive the salary that corresponds to their desired career and then “walk” through the expenses of life, including housing, student loan repayment, insurance, food, transportation and more.
