Thanks to a $1.2 million King County grant, Bellevue College in Washington can soon provide more support to underserved student veterans.
Students served will receive one-on-one case management, connections to community resources, wraparound support services and up to $20,000 for tuition and additional expenses, according to the college.
“What we’re really hoping for is that we’ll have more veterans attending postsecondary school and completing their degree or transferring,” said Adria Harris, dean of access and student achievement at Bellevue College. “We’re also hoping students will learn some efficacy and learn how to navigate the college themselves.
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Big Bend Community College’s agriculture program recently received a donation of commercial seeds valued at more than $30,000 from Eric Williamson of Williamson Farms, Inc. The gift will support hands-on learning in several agriculture courses and help offset one of the program’s largest recurring expenses.
The donation includes a wide variety of seeds — carrots, beans, tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, melons, cucumbers and corn — that students in crop production, plant science and pest management courses will use.
The timing of the donation is ideal as Big Bend nears completion on construction of its new Greenhouse Learning Center. The facility will feature precision growing technologies, heating and cooling systems and raised garden beds outside the structure to expand growing space.
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The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges is awarding nearly $1.6 million in funds to 12 community and technical college projects that address the changing needs and expectations of industry and prospective students, or that bolster local workforce and economic development initiatives.
Bates Technical College, for example, will use grant funding to expand carpentry training to get more students on the path to union jobs. Clark College’s funded project will focus on coordinating healthcare pathways for the region. Skagit Valley College was funded for a project aimed at modernizing fire and EMT programs. And Renton Technical College will work toward a precision metal fabrication upgrade.
Alabama
Students at Wallace Community College-Dothan (WCCD) will have more scholarship opportunities thanks to a $75,000 endowment from the Five Star Credit Union Foundation.
“These scholarship dollars will open doors for many individuals who might otherwise face financial barriers to their higher education goals. It is more than a gift — it is a powerful statement of belief in our students, our mission, and the potential of education to transform lives and communities,” said WCCD President Kathy L. Murphy.
California
Glendale Community College is receiving a $599,739 National Science Foundation grant to help build a Virtual Reality (VR) Research Lab and curricular enhancement initiative aimed at increasing interest, participation and success in STEM fields among community college students.
Along with the creation of a student/faculty-led VR Research Lab, the college will develop a student-run VR consultancy and implement work-based learning experiences aligned with regional workforce demands. The program also emphasizes interdisciplinary faculty training to develop immersive VR instructional content across biology, engineering, physics and more.
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MiraCosta College has received a $1.2 million grant from the Rebuilding Nursing Infrastructure (RNI) state grant to expand its nursing program.
The funding is part of a statewide initiative to rebuild nursing infrastructure. It will allow MiraCosta to increase student enrollment by 26%, enhance clinical training through new simulation technologies, establish transfer partnerships and create a licensed vocational nurse-to-registered nurse apprenticeship model.
The efforts will help to address a 46% shortage of registered nurses in San Diego.
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Yuba College will use a state $300,000 Fire and Forestry Pathway Grant to strengthen the region’s workforce in wildland fire response and forest management.
The college will develop new courses on topics such as fire behavior, suppression tactics, forest ecology, fuels management and climate resilience. The courses will complement current curriculum and provide industry-relevant training so students are prepared for immediate employment.
The initiative also will support outreach efforts to attract new students and will fund instructional equipment, materials and faculty development. In addition, the grant will help Yuba College create or expand regional partnerships with other colleges, employers, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and related agencies, which will help grow workforce pathways.
Maine
Over the next year, 6,700 state residents will attend free short-term workforce training programs at Maine’s community colleges. That’s thanks to $8.3 million distributed by the Harold Alfond Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce, a unit of the Maine Community College System.
The Alfond Center manages short-term workforce programming, provided the funding for campus-delivered classes as part of its five-year, $75 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation.
“This is the largest investment in on-campus short-term workforce programming in the system’s history,” said MCCS Chief Workforce Development Officer Dan Belyea. “This is workforce training at the scale and speed Maine needs.”
The 220 programs being offered over the next year will result in industry-recognized certifications and skill development, for both new and incumbent workers, in such fields as construction, healthcare, IT, manufacturing, electrical, plumbing, welding, hospitality and more.
New York
Kingsborough Community College and the CUNY Research Foundation recently received a $200,000 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant.
The grant project involves a three-week, combined virtual and residential institute for 25 college and university faculty to study methods for teaching and researching the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal program to provide jobs for out-of-work writers.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Highlands Community College will train about 200 students for manufacturing jobs thanks to a $40,000 state grant aimed at helping the workforce.
The Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career grant will allow the college to offer classes, in partnership with local manufacturers, that provide on-the-job training and help students improve other skills, such as customer service, communication, time management and professional etiquette.
The grant comes from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
“By bridging classroom instruction with real-world manufacturing experience, this grant provides participants with access to industry-aligned training,” said Julie Davis, Penn Highlands director of workforce education.
Tennessee
Cleveland State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Athens were awarded a $25,000 TN Accelerate grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR).
The colleges are expanding their partnership to better serve the region’s education and workforce development needs. The grant will provide funds to improve and expand initiatives and conduct a comprehensive review of curriculum pathways.
“To effectively support the education and workforce development needs of a large, rural service area, we have to forge strong partnerships and be highly innovative,” said Cleveland State President Andy White. “This grant incentivizes us to do just that. Students, area employers and our colleges will all benefit.”
