Bronx Community College (BCC) celebrated the opening of its newly improved cardiovascular room in the Alumni Gym Fitness Center, made possible with a $100,000 investment through funding secured by New York State Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia – a BCC alum.
BCC transformed the fitness space with approximately 15 new pieces of cardiovascular equipment, including treadmills, stationary bikes and an elliptical trainer. Before the improvements, only a small number of the room’s cardio machines were functioning, and there were no working treadmills available.
“As a proud alumnus of Bronx Community College, I know how much this campus means to the people of the Bronx,” Tapia said. “When we invest in the well-being of our students, we invest in their success, and I am proud to give back to the college that helped shape me.”
The renovated room will serve students across the college, supporting physical education courses, student-athlete conditioning and recreation activities. The space also will provide designated opportunities for the broader campus community to use the equipment.
* * *
LaGuardia Community College/CUNY has received a five-year federal Strengthening Institutions Program grant totaling $2.99 million to launch “Connected to Careers (C2C): Strengthening Classroom and Work-based Learning for Career Success.”
The goal of C2C is to improve degree attainment and preparation for living-wage careers for 30,000 low-income and first-generation community college students. The project will engage faculty, staff and industry partners to offer reimagined new student orientations; career-connected learning and advising; Generative AI use in the disciplines; innovative career planning; and financial support for paid internships.
“We want students to see a clear connection between the education they are pursuing and the future they are working toward,” said Kirk Lacy, executive director of employer partnerships and the co-principal investigator for this project.
California
West Los Angeles College’s (WLAC) dental hygiene program is celebrating a $500,000 bequest commitment from an anonymous donor.
The legacy gift will establish a permanent endowment to provide enduring support for the program. The funds can be used to enhance scholarships, modernize facilities and equipment, implement updated digital learning software and expand hands-on clinical training and simulation resources.
“Giving is a human instinct, donate today,” the anonymous donor said in a statement.
The WLAC dental hygiene program is one of only seven in the 116-campus California Community College system that offers a bachelor’s degree in the subject.
Illinois
Trajectory Energy Partners made a $225,000 donation to Heartland Community College. While $150,000 of the gift will go to student supports, $75,000 is designated specifically for the college regional center in Pontiac.
The donation supports facility improvements at the Pontiac center, including classroom upgrades that support programs in HVAC-R, certified nursing assistant and the EMT paramedic program.
“These funds will help us continue our mission to serve even more students and meet the growing demand for workforce training opportunities in Livingston County,” said April Fornero, director of Heartland Community College Pontiac.
Kentucky
A new endowment has been established at Ashland Community and Technical College (ACTC) with a $1 million contribution from an anonymous donor. The endowment creates scholarship opportunities for full-time, non-traditional students for years to come.
The donor graduated from ACTC around 30 years ago. The endowment was created in memory of their only child, Chris, who passed away, and reflects the donor’s desire to help others achieve their educational goals, according to a press release from the college.
“This endowment represents so much more than a financial gift. It represents hope, opportunity and a belief in what is possible when someone is given the support they need to succeed,” said ACTC Advancement Administrator Kim Minnehan-Jones.
Maryland
The Community College of Baltimore County Foundation announced recently two gifts to the Sandra L. Kurtinitis, Ph.D. President’s Innovation Fund, pushing the fund over the top to $1 million.
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company donated $200,000 and the CCBC Foundation donated $150,000 to the fund.
The President’s Innovation Fund empowers faculty and staff to develop promising new programs that strengthen and sustain ideas for student access and success. It also gives the president the flexibility to launch new initiatives and support the growth of creative ideas to enrich student learning.
The original goal for the fund was $500,000. It had grown to $650,000 over the past several years, and these two new gifts have brought it to $1 million.
Michigan
Gogebic Community College (GCC) has received a $476,496 grant through the Michigan Industry-Driven Skills Training Program (MIDSTP) to expand advanced manufacturing training opportunities.
The grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity will support GCC’s efforts to increase access to hands-on, industry-aligned training while bringing advanced technical education closer to the communities and employers it serves.
As part of the project, GCC will establish a complementary training laboratory at Trident Maritime Systems in Iron River, while continuing to use the college’s Skilled Trades Center in Ironwood. The two locations will form a regional training network designed to expand access to advanced manufacturing education across the western Upper Peninsula.
“In a rural area, we cannot always expect employees to travel an hour or more to access training. This grant allows us to reduce that barrier while building training around the skills employers actually need,” said Glen Ackerman-Behr, a GCC business faculty member.
North Carolina
Nash Community College (NCC) recently received an equipment donation valued at about $80,000 from Schneider Electric, expanding hands-on training opportunities for students in the college’s applied engineering technologies programs.
“Having access to industry-relevant equipment gives our students valuable hands-on experience and helps prepare them for the equipment and technologies they will encounter in the workplace,” said Wanda Tyson, department chair of applied engineering technologies at NCC.
Ohio
With more than $2.5 million in Title III funding from the U.S. Department of Labor, Stark State College will launch an initiative that will leverage AI to improve enrollment, retention and graduation rates and fill in-demand jobs in the region.
Funds will establish the Successful Pathways to AI-Ready Careers (SPARC) project. The five-year initiative aims to foster student success and regional economic growth. It will focus on educator training and AI-enabled student-support technologies.
“SPARC will harness the power of AI to support our students in the classroom and in their work-based learning programs. Moreover, we will use the power of AI to provide data and information to enhance our educational and workforce programs,” said Stark State College President Para M. Jones.
