San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes and his wife, Brittany Barnes, have donated $250,000 to the AlamoPROMISE tuition-free program. The donation will benefit students at St. Philip’s College, which is part of the Alamo Colleges District.
The contribution will help eliminate financial barriers and expand educational opportunities for students pursuing their academic and career goals.
AlamoPROMISE is a last-dollar scholarship that offers graduating seniors in Texas’ Bexar County the opportunity to pursue higher education without the financial burden. Now in its fifth year, the program has enrolled more than 23,000 students.
A 13-year NBA veteran, Barnes played for the Warriors, Mavericks and Kings before joining the Spurs in July 2024. Barnes captured an NBA Championship in 2015, while playing for Golden State, and won a gold medal as a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team.
He and Brittany say they were drawn to give to AlamoPROMISE because they believe in the power of education and the importance of providing equitable opportunities for all students to achieve their goals.
“Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing the power of community and support. Now, as part of the San Antonio community, we are honored to give back and help invest in the future of this incredible city. Partnering with AlamoPROMISE and St. Philip’s College is my way of ensuring that young people here have the resources and opportunities to succeed,” Barnes said this month at a press conference and check presentation.
Alabama
With a $162,000 grant from the Schmieding Foundation, Coastal Alabama Community College (CACC) nursing students, as well as emergency responders and other healthcare personnel, will have enhanced learning resources.
The college has used the grant to purchase two anatomage tables, which offer digitized human cadavers and medical learning tools. Each table costs approximately $62,000 and will benefit not only CACC’s nursing students, but also biology students, as well as emergency response personnel, who often train through the college’s nursing and allied health programs.
The Schmieding Foundation previously sponsored scholarships for the college’s certified nursing assistant program.
California
The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) received a $50,000 grant to participate in the Catalyzing a Data Infrastructure to Support LGBTQ Inclusion initiative. The funding will support promising data collection practices to help broaden access to science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medical (STEMM) fields from underutilized talent in America’s workforce.
SDCCD is one of five institutions that received a grant to support the initiative, which is a partnership of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and researchers at the University of Vermont’s Queer and Trans People in Education. The institutions will build data infrastructure that allows for the ethical and law-attentive collection and use of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data.
The goal is to ensure fair opportunities for the access and success of LGBTQ+ individuals in STEMM.
In addition to gathering data, participating institutions are analyzing it to understand SOGI data collection rates across categories, which will inform data-driven policies to benefit all students, according to SDCCD.
“This grant allows us to move beyond collecting data and into data-informed action,” said Michelle Fischthal, vice chancellor of institutional innovation and effectiveness at SDCCD.
Florida
Tallahassee State College (TSC) will use a $500,000 gift from HCA Florida Healthcare to support the next generation of healthcare professionals.
In recognition of the donation, the simulation lab at the Ghazvini Center for Healthcare Education will be named the HCA Florida Healthcare Simulation Lab. The facility provides hands-on, real-world experience that prepares students for the demands of their future careers in healthcare.
The funding from HCA Florida Healthcare leverages Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) funding, which comes from the Florida legislature to expand nursing education capacity across the state.
Michigan
Forty-eight colleges and universities in Michigan will receive a total of $10 million in Sixty by 30 Student Success Grants, which aim to bolster student success.
The grant program, totaling more than $45 million, provides funds to institutions to eliminate barriers for students, improve student experience and increase graduation rates.
Among the many community colleges awarded the grants is North Central Michigan Community College (NCMC), which will receive $73,458 to launch the Family Friendly Campus Initiative to support parenting students.
“The launch of the Family Friendly Campus Initiative at NCMC marks a major step forward in supporting our student parents,” said Jennifer Wixson, program coordinator and professor at NCMC. “With resources like campus childcare, a family room and childcare subsidies, this initiative highlights the importance of creating an environment where student parents can thrive. We are committed to providing the tools and support they need to achieve their educational goals while balancing their personal responsibilities.”
