New Jersey’s Hudson County Community College (HCCC) will use a $150,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to expand its HCCC Gateway to Innovation (GTI) Program by creating paid, work-based learning opportunities.
Through the new GTI Experiential Learning Opportunities Program, students will have opportunities for job shadowing, mentoring and internships to boost their career progression.
The funding will support a credential-based internship model engaging 50 students and the hiring of a full-time internship coordinator. HCCC will support program participants’ transportation and childcare needs, digital inclusion, and wraparound services through its resource center that includes food pantries, community agency support, mental health and wellness services, and more.
“We will employ collaborations with business leaders, labor unions, workforce development partners, public agencies and community organizations to create high-impact learning opportunities for our students and the people of Hudson County,” HCCC President Christopher Reber said in a release.
The college’s School of Continuing Education and Workforce Development initiated the GTI program in 2021 to address post-pandemic economic challenges of service industry workers by connecting them with opportunities in recession-resistant fields. GTI implements sector-based career pathway strategies and supports sustainable changes to provide equitable access to jobs paying family-sustaining wages, according to an HCCC press release.
Arkansas
South Arkansas College will pave another path for the education of registered nurses after receiving more than $1.5 million in grant funding.
The four-year U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant comes through the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention-Workforce Expansion Program, which is intended to increase the nursing workforce in rural and underserved areas.
“As a leader in workforce development, SouthArk is committed to working to close this gap and ensure our community has the skilled healthcare professionals it depends on,” Genevieve White, SouthArk nursing program director, said in a release.
SouthArk already educates future registered nurses through its bridge program for licensed practical nurses (LPN), as well as educating students to become licensed practical nurses. With the new grant, the college aims to develop a program that prepares students to become registered nurses without first becoming an LPN.
Florida
Indian River State College (The River) and its foundation announced recently a leadership gift from Vero Beach resident Kate Beckwith Woody.
Her donation will directly support Promise Program students in the county, ensuring that last-dollar tuition assistance reaches eligible students who have exhausted all other financial aid options. More than half (55.3%) of students in the 2025-2026 Promise Program are the first in their families to attend college.
“The Promise Program is so impactful because it gives students the opportunity to learn, find their passion, and be part of a community,” Woody said. “Think about a kid whose parents just wanted them to get through high school and then go into the workforce – what a great opportunity for them to get a degree and be able to support a family.”
Since joining the Indian River State College Foundation board, Woody has become passionate about raising awareness of the college’s community impact and the Promise Program’s role in workforce development.
“Anywhere you go, you are impacted by the college, but you’re not thinking about it,” Woody said. “We have such great crown jewels in Vero Beach, and Indian River State College should be up there with them. Sometimes you need to support where you’re living now, not just where you used to live.”
Illinois
Highland Community College has received a $30,000 grant from Grow Your Own–Illinois to recruit and support future educators through the Disadvantaged Male Teacher Initiative.
The initiative focuses on increasing access to and success in educator preparation pathways for all students, with an emphasis on male students from underrepresented and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, while addressing persistent teacher shortages.
Highland will use grant funds to support activities such as recruitment, advising, academic and career coaching and structured pathways into teacher preparation programs.
Maryland
Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) has received a $3,700 Nourishing Our Neighbors grant from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation to purchase food to keep the college’s campus food lockers stocked.
CCBC has food pantries on each of its three campuses and in 2023 added 108 food lockers. In fall 2025, 1,034 students made 7,225 pickups, taking home more than 26,000 items, while campus gardens provided more than 500 pounds of fresh produce for healthier food options. CCBC food lockers served 735 students, offering both anonymity and convenience.
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A $200,000 gift will launch new cultural programming and expand support for first-generation college men at Montgomery College.
The Montgomery College Foundation received the gift from longtime supporters Bobbi and Larry Shulman, alongside an additional $50,000 contribution from law firm Shulman Rogers in honor of Larry Shulman.
With $150,000, the Shulmans launched the Jewish Experience Fund to strengthen cultural understanding, foster belonging and offer students immersive learning opportunities. The fund includes a $100,000 endowment for long-term programming and $50,000 for immediate student experiences. Programming will focus on cultural competency training and antibias education, support for Jewish American Heritage Month, and interfaith and inclusive initiatives.
The Shulmans also invested $50,000 in the Presidential Scholars Program, which has been matched by Shulman Rogers, to support first-generation college men who have been historically and disproportionally underresourced in higher education.
Bobbi Shulman has served on both Montgomery College’s board of trustees and its foundation board of directors.
North Carolina
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $2.3 million to fund an addition to Sampson Community College’s activities building.
The funding comes through a USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Grant and will support a 10,000-square-foot expansion at the college’s Clinton campus.
The expanded space will serve as a lecture hall and support courses requiring open floor space for instruction and skills training. The facility also will be used for student events, activities, intramural sports, graduation exercises and as a meeting space for business and industry events.
Tennessee
Columbia State Community College recently received more than $2 million in federal funding that will help establish and support a new AI division.
Columbia State was the only community college in Tennessee to receive the four-year funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).
The funding will help develop an initiative called COMPASS: Community College Operational Model for Promoting AI Student Success. It will serve in the creation of the new AI division and is designed to build institutional capacity for artificial intelligence while ensuring students gain practical AI literacy skills.
“AI understanding and use are required for all fields or careers. This grant establishes us as an AI cutting-edge institution, integrating artificial intelligence throughout our curriculums and services,” Columbia State President Janet F. Smith said in a statement.
The initiative includes faculty training, the integration of AI tools across academic programs and student services, and required AI literacy modules that will reach more than 1,200 first-year students each year.
