North Carolina’s Durham Technical Community College will use a $50,000 grant from RTI International to establish a scholarship endowment fund for early childhood education students.
The scholarship will be named the Dr. Phail Wynn, Jr., RTI International Scholarship Endowment in honor of the late Phail Wynn, Jr., who served as the third president of Durham Tech before retiring in 2007.
“Phail’s impact and influence are present throughout the community,” said Wayne Holden, president and CEO of RTI International. “This scholarship will serve as a reminder of his profound legacy through the lives it touches.”
California
Hartnell College will use a $1.1 million gift from Taylor Farms to establish new pathways to a four-year degree for engineering and engineering technology students.
In recognition of the gift, Taylor Farms CEO and Chairman Bruce Taylor requested that the college’s STEM Center be named for Hartnell’s retired superintendent-president, Willard Lewallen.
At a ceremony last month, Hartnell’s new superintendent-president, Patricia Hsieh, spoke to the growing partnership between the college and Taylor Farms.
“Hartnell College has bright, talented and ambitious graduates,” Hsieh said. “Taylor Farms and your peers in the fresh fruits and vegetables industry have the need and the opportunities. What a great partnership opportunity! There is so much we can do together.”
Long Beach City College (LBCC) received a $3 million U.S. Department of Education grant to improve student success and equitable student outcomes for Latinx and low-income students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
LBCC will create the DESTINO: Developing Engaging STEM Through Innovative New Opportunities program focused on STEM teaching strategies to support historically underrepresented student groups and to ensure students are equitably welcomed and supported in opportunities in STEM education. The program also will provide integrated academic and student support services and invest in support structures needed for STEM transformation.
MiraCosta College has secured $1.5 million in state funding for its new veterans center, which is planned for the Oceanside Campus.
A student veteran celebrates graduation at MiraCosta College.
“MiraCosta College each year serves almost 3,500 students who are veterans, active-duty personnel or military dependents, and these funds will go a long way toward furthering the college’s commitment to making sure they get the resources they deserve after giving so much in serving our nation,” said MiraCosta Superintendent/President Sunita Cooke.
The funding will help equip the center’s lounge and resource area, in addition to offices for the veterans’ services program manager, a Veterans Administration representative and counselors. Computer stations and printers, a bolstered textbook loan program and expanded outreach and communications to Camp Pendleton are among the planned enhancements.
Construction of the center is expected to begin in about 12 months.
Rio Hondo College’s Office of Online Education will use a $477,000 grant to add or update 16 industry-valued online certificate programs in fields ranging from wildland fire technology to web design. The funding comes as part of the California Virtual Campus Online Education Initiative.
The overarching goal of Rio’s online education program is to increase accessibility and create visibility of online certificate programs that lead to entry-level job opportunities or opportunities for career advancement within a selected field.
Georgia
Augusta Technical College will use a $5,000 donation to support students in its GED diploma program with scholarships. The funds come from Savannah River Remediation.
South Carolina
Spartanburg Community College (SCC) received $15,000 from the Gene Haas Foundation to support students considering careers in machine tool technology (MTT). The funding will go toward scholarships over the next two years.
SCC’s MTT program has a consistent placement rate of 95 percent. The Haas scholarship funds can alleviate some of the financial burden for students’ training by allowing them to apply for up to $2,500 to cover tuition, books or other materials needed for the program.
Tennessee
Roane State Community College’s Tamke-Allan Observatory has a new addition: an eight-foot-tall telescope with an 18-inch diameter lens was donated by avid amateur astronomer John Jaruzel.
The Tamke-Allan Observatory is the only observatory that’s a part of Tennessee’s community college network. It is available to Roane State students through a two-semester astronomy course as well as to the public.
