North Carolina’s Craven Community College received the largest single bequest in its history: a $1 million scholarship endowment established by David and Anna Hurst. The endowment will provide scholarships for students in the college’s ambassador program, as well as those pursuing careers in education and nursing.
Student ambassadors serve as official representatives of Craven, both on and off campus. The Dr. David M. and Mrs. Anna R. Hurst Scholarship Endowment will help these students with the cost of tuitions and fee, and also fund team-building and enrichment opportunities.
“The Hursts have developed a sincere, personal relationship with our students and this endowment extends that connection to a permanent legacy,” said President Ray Staats. “Generosity of this magnitude changes lives and will certainly have a tremendous impact on our students for years to come.”
The Hurst endowment also will provide funding for the college’s Student Support Fund, which provides financial assistance for unexpected student emergencies, as well as 50-percent scholarships for qualifying students pursuing degrees in educational instruction or nursing.
Davidson County Community College, also located in North Carolina, will use a $25,000 grant from the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund to create a study abroad program. The program, developed in partnership with Universidad Nacional de Villa María in Argentina, will help Pell Grant recipients take a humanities course in Argentina to examine and analyze the history, geography and distinctive cultural aspects of the country, as well as get basic Spanish language instruction.
DCCC will open the course to other institutional partners: Guilford Technical Community College and Forsyth Technical Community College.
The 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund grant is sponsored by MetLife Foundation.
Florida
Miami Dade College (MDC) received a $75,000 donation from The Mohsin & Fauzia Jaffer Foundation to establish the first Lecturer for Islamic Studies on campus to provide resources, education and outreach on Islam.
Mohammad Homayounvash will serve as MDC’s Visiting Lecturer for Islamic Studies. He will operate out of the Homestead Campus and will serve as a resource by providing expertise on curriculum and organizing various panel discussions on Islam, the Middle East, women’s rights and political violence. He will also work with MDC’s Live Arts on programming, which has dedicated its new season to Muslim culture, and to coordinate student trips abroad.
Louisiana
Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) will reinvigorate its recycling program using a $10,000 Keep Louisiana Beautiful Healthy Communities Grant. The effort will be led by the college’s science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) department and environmental clubs. In conjunction with the grant, the Green Bears Club at BRCC will host an electronics recycling day in partnership with Capitol Area Corporate Recycling Council on November 15.
South Carolina
Greenville Technical College (GTC) can upgrade its aircraft maintenance technology program thanks to a $50,000 donation from Champion Aerospace. Next year, the AMT program will move to a new facility at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center to be shared with the South Carolina Army National Guard. GTC has dedicated library, classroom, office and hangar space and use of additional space during the week in the 95,000-square-foot building.
Duke Energy is helping fund GTC’s new “80 to Work” program. (Photo: GTC)
In recognition of the gift, a classroom will be named the Champion Aerospace Ignition Classroom, a space where students will learn the skills to work on aircraft ignition and power generation systems.
GTC also received a $50,000 gift from the Duke Energy Foundation for a new initiative to help students gain the skills to become CNC operators. The initiative — 80 to Work — gets students through the program in two weeks, with 80 intensive hours of focused training. Completers will qualify to work in the manufacturing environment as entry-level CNC operators.
The funding from Duke provides supplies for participating students, including books and access to simulation while it also offsets the cost of mentorship.
Tennessee
Southwest Tennessee Community College student parents will benefit from an $800,000 Childcare Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant will fund care for young children of Pell Grant-eligible students pursuing an associate degree.
“It’s a fact that providing affordable childcare improves the student-parent persistence towards graduation,” Mary Palmer, director of child care centers at Southwest, said in a release. “Finding quality childcare is often the first and most stubborn hurdle for parents who want a better life through education. This removes that barrier in a licensed, nationally accredited environment so our parents/students can confidently move forward with their academic aspirations.”
