Public service industries, including police and fire departments, have an express need for completing educational benchmarks allowing for promotions and pay increases. Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) excels at partnering with area industry to meet expressed needs. Through industry discussion several educational models were developed to advance those working in our public service industries. We will present established models developed for the Department of Corrections, Police, Fire and Paramedic departments in the BCTC service area.

Speaker(s):

• Dr. Melanie Williamson, Academic Dean, Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC)
• Holly Clifford, Assistant Dean for the Communications, History, Languages, and Social Sciences Division, Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC)
• Dr. Valdis J. Zeps, Academic Dean, Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC)

In this episode we talk about how Harper College and Achieving the Dream (ATD) are using their MacKenzie Scott charitable gifts to reach populations struggling against inequities. 

Guests: 

• Dr. Avis Proctor, president of William Rainey Harper College
• Dr. Karen A. Stout, president and CEO of Achieving the Dream (ATD)

In this episode we talk about engaging adjuncts to promote student success. Record live at AACC Annual in 2023.

Guests:

• Michael Baston, President of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C)
• Lisa Williams, Campus President of the Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) Western Campus
• Lindsay English, Assistant Provost and Vice President of Learning & Engagement for Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C)

Learn more about the Pepsico Foundation: https://www.pepsico.com/our-impact/philanthropy/pepsico-foundation

Learn more about how Pepsico Foundation helps community college students: https://www.pepsico.com/our-stories/press-release/pepsico-launches-40-million-community-college-program-to-support-4000-black-and-03302021

In this episode, we talk to Betsy Conway about the Lowe's Foundation Gable Grants Program.

Applications are due April 10, 2023. Learn more and apply: http://lowes.com/foundation

The Lowe’s Foundation has launched a five-year, $50 million effort to help community colleges and other community-based organizations prepare 50,000 people for skilled trades careers.

The first round of the Gable Grants will focus on community and technical colleges, through which the foundation aims to address the skilled trades labor shortage, with a focus on young adults, especially from underrepresented and rural communities. April 10 is the deadline to apply.

The skilled trades is in a workforce crisis, with 85% of contractors reporting trouble finding skilled workers, according to the foundation. An estimated 546,000 new skilled tradespeople are needed to meet the demand in 2023 alone, on top of the normal hiring.

More about our guest: 

As the director of the Lowe’s Foundation, Betsy is responsible for the strategic execution of the new Gable Grants program, which provides grants to community and technical colleges and community-based nonprofit organizations that prepare individuals for careers in the skilled trades. She has been with Lowe’s since 2019 and previously served as director, community relations, in which she led community partnerships in the Charlotte region and the company’s volunteer program.

The AACC Innovation Challenege (CCIC) is led by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF). It is a national competition where community college student teams, working with a faculty or administrator mentor, use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to innovate solutions to real-world problems; participate in an Innovation Boot Camp; and compete for cash awards.

Learn more: https://www.aaccinnovationchallenge.com/

Email questions: [email protected]

In this episode, we talk with Stephen Miller, director of the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at Eastern New Mexico University–Ruidoso, about cybersecurity training programs at community colleges, including how to grow programs even as technology changes and the need for collaboration.

Our guest is AACC's senior vice president of government relations, David Baime. We talk about community college students and federal student loans. To learn more, check out this policy document on the AACC website.

We talk to Hudson County Community College about how they are helping students succeed with their Hudson Scholars Program. Guests include:

• Dr. Christopher Reber, Hudson County Community College (HCCC) president
• HCCC student Latisha Straker
• Dr. Gretchen Schulthes, associate director, advising and transfer
• John Urgola, institutional effectiveness coordinator

Some supporting data: 

• Fall 2021 Hudson Scholars | Fall-to-Spring Retention
• Fall 2021 Hudson Scholars | Meetings and Stipends
• 2021-2022 Hudson Scholars Return on Investment

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Audrey Yamagata-Noji. Dr. Yamagata-Noji is the VP, Student Services at Mt. San Antonio College in California.