A $273,838 grant from the Marathon Petroleum Corp. Foundation will help El Paso Community College (EPCC) prepare certified welders for the region.
The funds will help to create a high school-to-college transition program in welding technology. EPCC will collaborate with the Ysleta ISD Career Center Welding Program at Riverside High School and Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) on the program.
Students in the program will have a clear pathway to transition from the high school’s welding program to EPCC where they can earn additional welding certifications or an associate degree.
MPC has provided guidance on curriculum and expertise on industry standards and qualifications for students to be career-ready. In addition to the financial support to buy equipment needed to train students, MPC employees will serve as mentors.
“Opportunities like these are the pathway to the middle class for our students and their families. It is also a clear pathway to strengthening our region’s workforce and economy,” said EPCC President William Serrata.
Alabama
Canfor Southern Pine is sponsoring Bishop State Community College’s Skills Boss Lab with a $178,000 donation.
The lab, located in the college’s new advanced manufacturing technology center, will provide to students hands-on learning experiences with enhanced manufacturing technology. Students may earn the Manufacturing Skills Standard Council (MSSC) Certified Production Technician credential, which covers four modules: safety, quality control, production and processes, and maintenance awareness.
“Our goal is to provide our local industry partners a highly skilled workforce and access to advanced training. Canfor’s support allows the college to purchase cutting-edge, industry-recommended equipment to produce job-ready graduates,” said Bishop State Interim President Lawrence Brandyburg.
Arkansas
Ozarka College has received a $5,000 contribution from Vic and Pam Setser of Stone County to support Ozarka’s welding center expansion. The contribution will fully outfit one of 10 welding booths at the center. Each welding station will be equipped with welders with industry-driven add-ons.
The new center will house advanced welding education for college students, assist local industries with continuing education needs for their employees, and enable area high school students an accelerated pathway into high-demand career fields.
Florida
A $10 million anonymous gift will help Indian River State College (IRSC) establish a charter high school in Indiantown, Florida, which is one of the region’s most economically depressed areas. A groundbreaking is expected later this year.
The new school will focus on career and workforce education and dual enrollment opportunities. Its educational foundation aims to develop entrepreneurial mindsets supporting individual and regional economic stability and enhance pathways for workforce and post-high school educational opportunities.
“Students in this predominately minority and low socio-economic community must currently travel to Stuart to attend high school, often spending hours getting to and from school,” IRSC President Timothy Moore said.
The charter high school will be the second that IRSC operates in Martin County. IRSC’s Clark Advanced Learning Center, a public charter high school on the college’s Chastain Campus in Stuart, opened in 2004.
Louisiana
A $12 million investment in Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) will support the construction and development of the college’s new nursing and allied health building. The funds, from the health system Our Lady of the Lake, also will help to renovate part of the college’s wellness center to focus on sports medicine and training.
The new facility will bring together BRCC’s School of Nursing and Division of Allied Health under one roof and will allow the college to add programs in respiratory care, physical and occupational therapy, and athletic training.
“This will truly be a game-changer for our community,” said BRCC Chancellor Willie E. Smith.
Maryland
Wor-Wic Community College is establishing a new endowed scholarship fund with a $2.32 million gift from George E. Miles.
After graduating from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1960 with a degree in electrical engineering, Miles took a job at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. He worked on projects that included sounding rockets. Miles died in 2018.
“Income from the endowment will be used to bring life-changing education in the form of scholarships that will enhance the learning experience and opportunities for students on the Lower Eastern Shore,” said Wor-Wic President Ray Hoy.
Massachusetts
Bristol Community College has received $5,000 from the Anthony F. Cordeiro Charitable Foundation. The funding will support the college’s CARE Team, expand its student and family engagement services and establish the Cordeiro Family Care Fund to financially assist students who face challenges in earning their degree.
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For the eighth year, North Shore Community College (NSCC) will serve as a partner on a grant project to help address local youth violence. The college will receive $36,270 of a $370,819 grant through the Sen. Charles E. Shannon, Jr., Community Safety Initiative Grant Program.
NSCC will provide strategic, analytic, technical and research support. It assists with the grant requirements from the state, conducts research and analysis on local crime trends, and provides training on the latest research in the field and current issues in criminal justice.
In addition, the funds support a paid student intern position for a criminal justice student at the college who is interested in working with youth in the community.
“The information and research NSCC produces is used by the partners to develop strategies for dealing with gang issues,” said NSCC criminal justice professor and project coordinator Frank D’Agostino.
Minnesota
Students at Alexandria Technical and Community College will benefit from $25,000 in grants from the Gene Haas Foundation.
The grants support student scholarships and machining and manufacturing engineering program needs. All first-year students enrolled in the machine tool technology program will receive a $750 scholarship.
Since 2015, the college has received $159,000 in annual grants from the foundation.
Oregon
Several Oregon community colleges have received grants from the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA) to expand services for student veterans. ODVA recently awarded a total of $600,000 to universities and colleges.
Lane Community College’s Maxwell Student Veterans Center (MSVC) will continue to operation thanks to a $58,500 ODVA grant.
Chemeketa Community College received a $57,416 ODVA grant. It will help fund the college’s Veterans Resource Center for about a year and a half.
Blue Mountain, Central Oregon, Clackamas, Klamath, Linn-Benton, Mount Hood, Rogue and Southwestern Oregon community colleges also received ODVA grants.
