Funding roundup

Elgin Community College faculty members stand in a newly arrived shipping container unit which will be used to build a solar array. The project is supported by an Illinois Green Economy Network grant. (Photo: ECC)

A $39,000 grant from the Illinois Green Economy Network will allow Elgin Community College’s (ECC) sustainability, business and career technologies (SBCT) division to construct a fully functioning solar array by fall 2024.

The college recently received the shipping container unit that will kick off the project. In the upcoming months, ECC’s energy management program will work on adding a solar racking system to hold the containers on the outside. On the inside, they will install several inverters.

“The goal of this is to be a functional training station for students in the energy management program and a visible ad for the program,” said Tyler O’Donnell, associate dean of the SBCT division.

“Over the next few months, we’ll be working on adding all the guts and glory into the system,” added HAVC instructor David Scott. “This is an opportunity to give our students hands-on experience installing a ray and setting up the inverter and battery system to power it. This will be a complete hands-on project for our students.”

ECC energy management program students will primarily construct the project, but Scott plans to bring in as many classes as possible in places needed.

Delaware

Delaware Technical and Community College will use a $50,000 donation from the Draper Holdings Charitable Foundation to establish a memorial fund in honor of Thomas H. Draper, the late founder of the foundation. The fund aims to enhance educational excellence at Del Tech and provide new opportunities for its students.

“We believe that investing in education is one of the best ways to invest in our future,” said Mariah Draper Calagione, president of the foundation. “This fund not only honors my father’s legacy but also bolsters the resources available to nurture the potential of future leaders in our community.”

Georgia

Kia Georgia has donated $100,000 to the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Foundation. Kia Georgia President and CEO Stuart Countess presented the check at TCSG’s annual Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) and Rick Perkins Awards banquet celebrating TCSG’s top students and instructors.

The donation will directly benefit students enrolled in technical colleges across the state, providing vital resources to enhance educational opportunities and career pathways.

Since 2016, Kia Georgia has provided funding to award the state GOAL winner with a brand-new Kia as the grand prize. In addition to awarding a new vehicle to the top student, the remaining funding will support The Last Mile Fund to provide gap funding for the more than 131,000 technical education students served within TCSG.

“This donation will have a meaningful impact on the lives of countless students, helping to remove barriers to education and create pathways to success in high-demand fields,” said TCSG Commissioner Greg Dozier.

Kia Georgia President and CEO Stuart Countess (right) presents a check to Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Greg Dozier at a recent awards banquet. (Photo: TCSG)

Florida

The College of Central Florida Foundation and the Citrus County Hospital Board have partnered to establish what is now a $11.7 million endowment to support of nursing education for Citrus County students.

Beginning August 2024, Citrus County residents who have been officially admitted into the associate degree nursing program at the College of Central Florida (CF) will receive a scholarship to cover the cost of in-state tuition and lab fees throughout the program. The scholarship is anticipated to cover full in-state tuition and lab fees for up to 50 associate degree nursing students annually.

The CF Foundation endowment for this scholarship is built from more than $23.4 million in donations and matching funds over the last two years. The $11.7 million in donations from the Citrus County Hospital Board in 2023 and 2024 also allowed the college to apply for and receive matching Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) grants funded by the state. In 2023, the college received a $6.7 million LINE grant.

Maryland

Howard Community College has received two major gifts totaling $1.2 million to support construction and programming of the college’s Workforce Development and Skilled Trades Center (WDTC).

A family in Columbia, Md., donated $1 million and Apple Ford Lincoln of Columbia committed $200,000 to the center. Apple Ford Lincoln President Chip Doetsch  serves as a member of the WDTC Capital Campaign advisory council.

The WDTC, a 50,000-square-foot facility, will train future professionals in welding, plumbing, HVAC, automotive trades and more. The groundbreaking will happen this fall.

New York

A team of Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) computer information systems (CIS) professors — Ching Song (Don) Wei, Mohammad Azhar, Hao Tang and Yan Chen — have received a three-year, $645,000 Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop City University of New York’s first artificial intelligence (AI) certificate program.

The 30-credit AI certificate program will articulate to an AI associate degree program that is currently under development at BMCC.

During the grant period, the CIS professors plan to create new courses aligned to industry-recognized curricula, modify existing AI and machine learning-related courses and adapt course materials for online delivery.

The proposed certificate program will be developed to serve high school students, incumbent workers and second-degree seekers. The program seeks to expand educational and career pathways in AI and machine learning for nontraditional students, women, underrepresented minorities and others who face barriers to accessing these fast-growing skilled technical jobs.

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SUNY Westchester Community College was able to purchase new healthcare training equipment thanks to a $16,373 grant from The Children’s Dream Foundation (CDF).

The new Laerdal SimJunior Dark simulator will help to train students in nursing, paramedic, radiologic technology and respiratory care and current first responders in their education of pediatric emergency care. Also covered by the grant was SimJunior training for faculty from the nursing, radiologic and paramedic programs conducted by a Laerdal simulation training specialist.

Ohio

The Clark State College Foundation received a donation of more than $27,000 from the organizers of the Matthew Yates Memorial Basketball Tournament that it will dedicate to the Matthew Yates Memorial Scholarship. Yates was a member of the Clark County Sheriff’s Department who lost his life in the line of duty.

The scholarship will help students pursuing certificates and degrees through Clark State’s School of Health, Human and Public Services, including Clark State’s Basic Peace Officer Training Academy, of which Yates and his wife, Tracy, are both graduates.

Organizers of the Matthew Yates Memorial Basketball Tournament present Clark State College with a donation of more than $27,000 to assist students pursuing careers in law enforcement and mental health. (Photo: Clark State)

About the Author

Tabitha Whissemore
Tabitha Whissemore is a contributor to Community College Daily and managing editor of AACC's Community College Journal.
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