Lorain County Community College’s (LCCC) 60th anniversary celebrations concluded with a big announcement: The Eric & Jane Nord Family Fund is donating $5 million to the LCCC Foundation. The gift will fund the new Eric & Jane Nord STEM Discovery Institute to prepare students for high-demand STEM careers through career exploration experiences, robust support systems and educational pathways through LCCC and the University Partnership.
As the institute develops, programming will include opportunities to engage high school students in STEM education through College Credit Plus and other opportunities, according to the college.
The connection between the Ohio college and the Nord family goes back to the creation of LCCC. Walter Nord was chair of the college’s first levy campaign, and later chaired the committee that selected the location of LCCC’s permanent campus, which opened in 1966.
Since then, the Nord family continued its support with Eric Nord serving as chair of another capital campaign. The Nords also championed the development of the Nord Advanced Technologies Center, which was opened in 1984 and renamed in 1993 to carry the family name.
“The Nord family has been instrumental in the longevity and success of both the college and the foundation. Their unwavering support has been a cornerstone of our success,” LCCC President Marcia J. Ballinger said in a release.
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Marion Technical College will use a $533,404 National Science Foundation grant to expand its cybersecurity program and train students, high school teachers and government employees.
With the funding, the college can better align curriculum with the NSA Centers of Excellence in Cybersecurity. In addition to upgrading hardware, Marion Tech will offer cybersecurity camps starting next summer to offer free training to teachers, government employees and utility workers as well as students.
Alabama
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation (DGLF) has awarded Alabama’s Northwest Shoals Community College (NWSCC) $18,000 in grants to support adult and family literacy. The college received a $10,000 Adult Literacy grant and an $8,000 Family Literacy grant.
The Adult Literacy grant will help the college improve awareness and services for Hispanic residents in NWSCC communities. The Family Literacy grant supports early childhood students and their parents through a personalized Literacy and Legacy book program. Each participating student and their family will receive a personalized book about their family at the completion of the program.
According to Adult Education Executive Director Tara Branscome, approximately 20% of the 1,500 students in the college’s adult education program are English-language learners.
California
Long Beach City College (LBCC) will receive a $750,000 grant from the California Municipal Utilities Association to help create a new pipeline of skilled workers for the utility industry. LBCC will train and place at least 70 individuals from underrepresented communities.
The grant also funds LBCC’s creation of the “Careers in Energy, Water and Wastewater Program” to recruit, train and place workers in the water and energy sectors.
New Jersey
County College of Morris (CCM) has received a $650,000 Advanced Technology Education (ATE) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant, distributed over three years, will support the college’s expansion of its nationally recognized data science program and aid in the establishment of a new Data Science Institute.
CCM provides an opportunity for students to gain an early interest in the data science field with a fast-track approach toward employment. Students can earn the 16-credit certificate of achievement in data analytics in less than one year and further their studies at CCM towards an associate of science degree in computer science with a concentration in data science.
The ATE grant will support teachers to ensure they attain industry-recognized certifications and are equipped with the latest tools and knowledge in data science. Students will get training and specialized workshops on data manipulation, statistical analysis, machine learning, data visualization and more. Guest lecturers, industry visits and networking events also will showcase real-world applications of data science and help funnel students to industry.
NOAA grants
American Samoa Community College, Long Beach City College and the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges are among the organizations receiving grants through the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate-Ready Workforce for Coastal States, Tribes and Territories Initiative.
NOAA has awarded $60 million in funding to help train and place people in jobs that advance a climate-ready workforce as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda under the Inflation Reduction Act.
American Samoa Community College and its partner, the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program, will receive about $1.75 million to address urgent climate impacts in American Samoa. They will train individuals for jobs in water and wastewater treatment operations to fill vacancies at the American Samoa Power Authority, the territory’s only utility company and a partner in the program.
In California, Long Beach City College (LBCC) will use its $9.5 million grant to establish and support the Los Angeles County Climate Ready Employment Council, which will develop training, internship and job placement services for key occupations in the water and solar sectors that need workers. The council will work with industries and experts to develop the training curriculum and will conduct a needs assessment to identify the skills and training needed for available jobs.
By participating in the employment council, partner employers will have access to a pipeline of qualified workers trained for in-demand occupations in their industry sector.
The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges received a $9.25 million grant. With the funding, six community colleges and five Tribal Nations will partner to cultivate a new generation of tribal leaders and co-stewards adept in integrative natural resources management and climate resilience. The Tribal Stewards initiative will train both tribal and non-tribal graduates to contribute to co-stewardship, collaboration and climate resilience efforts that serve tribal communities. The six colleges and their partners are:
- Peninsula College and the Makah Tribe
- Grays Harbor College and the Quinault Indian Nation
- Green River College and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
- South Puget Sound Community College and the Squaxin Island Tribe
- Spokane Community College and Wenatchee Valley College and the Colville Confederated Tribes
Pennsylvania
A $20,000 donation to the Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Foundation from the Somerset Trust Company will help strengthen the college’s Educational Income Tax Credit (EITC) fund.
The college’s EITC program empowers high school students to enroll in college-level courses, allowing them to earn credits and explore the opportunities that Penn Highlands can provide for their future careers. With Penn Highlands applying for and maintaining its EITC status, the donation will allow the college to offer classes at a reduced price for its dual-enrollment students through its accelerated college education program.
This is the second contribution Somerset Trust Company has made to the college’s EITC fund, joining a donation made in 2023.
Tennessee
The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) has awarded grants to three community colleges to pilot projects designed to foster innovation in corequisite learning support models.
Chattanooga State Community College’s project involves math department leaders creating a one-credit-hour learning support lab for college-level math courses required for STEM majors. When possible, the lab will be taught by the same instructor as the college-level course and will closely follow the same curriculum.
Nashville State Community College’s Navigating Tutoring in Learning Support project will increase tutoring availability for learning support students and embed tutoring in all learning support subjects through a new tutor navigator position and targeted tutoring.
Pellissippi State Community College will launch math learning communities where students’ experiences in college-level and learning support math courses are seamlessly integrated, with additional support from Learning Environment for Academic Resourcefulness Labs.
The colleges will work closely with TBR staff to refine their innovations and develop robust evaluation plans to measure impact on student outcomes. TBR is funding the projects through a $230,000 grant from the Education Commission of the States’ Strong Start to Finish project.
