
1 minute read
C-GCC Chosen for National Grant to Assist Rural Community Colleges
C-GCC is the only college in New York State to be chosen for the Building Resiliency in Rural Communities for the Future of Work initiative, designed to increase rural colleges’ abilities to prepare students for careers in today’s economy.
C-GCC is one of seven community colleges in the nation, and the only college in New York State, selected by the Achieving the Dream network (ATD) to participate in a new initiative: Building Resiliency in Rural Communities for the Future of Work.
Advertisement
ATD, currently at the forefront of the most comprehensive non-governmental reform movement for student success in higher education’s history, launched Building Resiliency to increase rural colleges’ abilities to prepare students for careers in today’s economy. According to C-GCC President Carlee R. Drummer, Ph.D., the three-year, $258,000 grant is one of the largest private grants ever received by the College.
“This partnership will enable the College to build on its momentum of strengthening and enhancing academic and personal supports, as well as narrowing equity gaps so that increased numbers of students will be able to find jobs that pay familysustaining wages,” she said.
Achieving the Dream President and CEO Karen A. Stout, Ph.D., added “rural community colleges have long served as drivers of their communities’ economic and civic vitality, playing a critical role in ensuring social and economic mobility. “Building Resiliency in Rural Communities for the Future of Work adds to ATD’s experience collaborating with rural colleges in our network, as well as the nation’s tribal colleges and universities, offering new learning opportunities around the role of rural community colleges as workforce and economic development engines,” she noted.
Founded in 2004, ATD leads a growing network of more than 300 community colleges in 45 states and the District of Columbia committed to helping students, particularly low-income and students of color, achieve their goals for academic success, personal growth, and economic opportunity. The Building Resiliency grant is made possible by funding from the Ascendium Education Group, Cognizant U.S. Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., The Community Focus Fund at the Chicago Community Foundation, and Walmart.org. C-GCC joins a cohort of institutions located in Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, and North Carolina. For more information, visit achievingthedream.org.