Forsyth Technical Community College, the Winston-Salem Alliance and the city of Winston-Salem in North Carolina recently announced the launch of the Winston-Salem College Guarantee, funded primarily through a four-year, $870,000 grant by BB&T Corp. Under a new initiative intended to alter the cycle of poverty, students in low-income households who graduate from any high school in Forsyth County will be able to attend Forsyth Tech free of charge.
The Hope and Opportunity scholarships available through the program will cover tuition, books and fees, as well as other expenses if necessary, such as transportation, childcare and remedial education. Scholarships will be available for students who graduate in the high school classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022 and who live in households with an income of 80 percent or less of the average median income of the county.
Over the life of the program, officials estimate that it will assist an estimated 2,550 students, Mayor Allen Joines said at a press conference.
“This program has the potential to significantly reduce poverty in our community,” Joines said. “It will enable underprivileged students to acquire two-year technical degrees in such areas as plumbing, electrical, HVAC, medical technologies, aviation maintenance and others that offer good salaries, without the crippling debt of college loans.”
Arizona
Pima Community College has received three federal grants totaling nearly $6 million.
A five-year, $2.67 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will help establish a Center for Excellence in Hospitality and Tourism at the Desert Vista Campus. Pima will redesign its culinary and hotel and restaurant management programs into a state-of-the-art hospitality leadership degree program. Through the grant, Pima will improve curriculum, upgrade learning labs and buy equipment.
The second grant – a five-year, $1.97 million grant from ED – funds Pima’s Guided Pathways in Health Professions project and enhances the planned Center for Excellence Health Professions. The college will expand capacity in its nursing programs, redesign the registered nurse associate degree and develop a healthcare meta-major that covers the general healthcare curriculum and a specific field. It also will help to improve teaching space, especially the nursing skills labs.
A $1.25 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation will help Pima work with University of Arizona to help high-achieving, low-income Pima students who want to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees at the university. Pima will recruit 94 of its students, who will receive scholarships during their last year at Pima and first 2.5 years at the university. They will receive faculty and peer mentoring, as well as individualized counseling, and attend financial aid workshops, plus classes in STEM transfer and career exploration. The goal is to improve transfer, retention and graduation rates to the University of Arizona in STEM fields.
Colorado
Front Range Community College’s (FRCC’s) new Center for Integrated Manufacturing will get new equipment thanks to a $1 million pledge from philanthropists Suzanne and David Hoover.
The Hoover family has designated $500,000 of the gift to purchase manufacturing training equipment for the center. The machines will be housed in the newly named Hoover Family Automation and Engineering Technology Lab.
“My husband was involved with Ball Corporation for his whole career, so we’re very aware of the needs companies have for well-trained future employees,” said Suzanne Hoover. “FRCC students need this type of specialized equipment for hands-on training so they can be ready for jobs in advanced manufacturing.”
The FRCC Foundation will use the other half of the gift to create the new Hoover Family Endowment to fund scholarships for FRCC students.
The Hoover’s donation brings FRCC close to its original goal of raising $2 million to create the Center for Integrated Manufacturing, which opened in August.
Florida
Northwest Florida State College received more than $275,000 by way of three Pathways to Career Opportunities grants by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE). The college will focus on developing registered apprenticeships in the areas of carpentry, machining and plumbing.
The grants will cover training equipment, partnership engagement, apprentice outreach and recruitment, curriculum design and distribution, and apprenticeship tracking and monitoring.
“The importance of these newly established apprenticeship programs cannot be understated,” said NWFSC President Devin Stephenson. “The future job market will more closely focus on career and technical education, and NWF State College stands ready to respond to those evolving needs.”
The college also received a gift of $15,000 from Dennis and Cathy Stuteville to establish a scholarship endowment in memory of Dennis’s sister, Doris Jean Stuteville.
Doris, who joined the Army Reserves with the promise of getting her licensed practical nurse degree, was proud to become a nurse and happy to make a difference. Knowing the importance of an education and the impact that becoming a nurse had on Doris’ life, the Stuteville’s established the Doris Jean Stuteville Nursing Scholarship Endowment.
Louisiana
SOWELA Technical Community College announced a $161,000 donation from Houston-based Cheniere Energy and the continuation of a partnership in the form of an apprenticeship program. The funds help to complete a working refrigeration skid on SOWELA’s campus that will be used for training purposes.
The continuation of the apprenticeship program will begin in January 2020, and eligible students will take what they have learned in SOWELA’s classrooms and apply it to their jobs at Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass Terminal. Students accepted into the apprenticeship program will be involved in the day-to-day processing and instrumentation work at the facility.
“The partnership between SOWELA and Cheniere is an excellent example of how business and industry can work together to build a workforce and strengthen the economy for Southwest Louisiana,” said SOWELA Chancellor Neil Aspinwall.
Massachusetts
Bristol Community College received a $15,000 pledge from the Fall River Municipal Credit Union in support of the college’s John J. Sbrega Health and Science Building. The LEED Platinum-rated, 46,000-square-foot building is equipped with advanced technological resources to educate Bristol’s students in the high-demand fields of nursing, dental hygiene and life sciences. A balcony is named in honor of Fall River Municipal Credit Union’s generous support.
New Jersey
County College of Morris (CCM) will use a $110,000 grant from Impact 100 Garden State to launch the Dover College Promise. The Promise program will provide low-income students from the town of Dover with college readiness training and support, along with guaranteed scholarships to attend CCM as long as they graduate from high school in good standing.
“Through the Dover College Promise, we can help uplift a community for generations by providing students with support and access to a quality higher education so they can pursue rewarding careers,” said CCM President Anthony J. Iacono.
The program will provide students with tutoring, college preparation classes, mentoring and community-based service-learning programs. Once enrolled at CCM, they will continue to receive academic success support services.
In the first year, slated to begin fall 2020, the program will enroll 30 high school sophomores. At full capacity, the program is expected to serve 146 middle and high school students annually.
Pam Marcenaro, dean of learning support and opportunity services at County College of Morris, and Ed Lopez, a counselor at the college, were presented with a $110,000 award from Impact 100 Garden State to launch the Dover College Promise. (Photo: CCM)
New Mexico
Mesalands Community College will enhance its integrated renewable energy program using a $6,000 education grant from the Xcel Energy Foundation. The college plans to purchase a mobile training unit that will provide hands-on training to students in rural areas, with the goal of preparing students for a career in wind energy and other renewable energy fields.
Tennessee
Pellissippi State Community College has received two Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) grants: $999,874 for Knox County initiatives and $998,416 for Blount County initiatives. In both cases, the funding will go toward addressing workforce needs. The focus in Knox County will be on information technology careers in Knox County, and construction and advanced manufacturing careers in Blount County.
The grants will help the college address barriers to education/training access, insufficient early postsecondary education and training opportunities, insufficient student support services and misalignment between education and workforce needs.
