U.S. State Department Subcontract Among College's Recent Grant Activity
Office of International Education Receives Two Grants
Dr. Susan Jagendorf-Sobierajski, executive director of SUNY Cobleskill’s Office of International Education, received two grants to support scholarly exchange activities at the College. Through a U.S. State Department sub-contract with Georgetown University, SUNY Cobleskill will coordinate leadership workshops and cultural activities for 25 Central American students and help facilitate international exchange programs for area high school students.
A second grant, the Near East and South Asia Undergraduate Exchange Program (NESA UGRAD), is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of State and is currently administered by The American Councils for International Education. The program provides full scholarships for outstanding students from the Near East and South Asia for one academic year of non-degree undergraduate study in the United States at accredited two- and four-year colleges and universities. SUNY Cobleskill, a sub-contractor, has received four NESA UGRAD students under this program.
New York State Department of Education Support for Technical Education Students
Terry Hughes, director of SUNY Cobleskill’s Career Pathways program, received funding from the New York State Department of Education’s Perkins IV/CTEA Grant Title I program to improve retention, graduation and placement rates in support of credit and non-credit career and technical education students.
The grant will provide support for tutoring and retention services in CASE, as well as the MERITS and Disabilities Support Services programs. New technology and equipment upgrades will be provided in the Plant Science, Early Childhood, and Culinary departments. Instructional courseware purchased for the Computer Technology department will enable students the opportunity to become certified in A+ and Network+, which are often required by the industry. New software in the Student Success Center will enhance data collection services and provide expanded analysis capabilities to further improve services.
Faculty Support for Bachelor’s of Technology Program in Environmental and Energy Technologies
SUNY Cobleskill received good news regarding its Bachelor’s of Technology in Environmental and Energy Technologies – the proposed program was approved by SUNY and the Appalachian Regional Commission, and will provide funding to support the hiring of a faculty member to develop and deliver the program curriculum.
Matching grant support was provided through Dr. Doug Goodale’s Biowaste-to-Bioenergy project. Dr. John Kowal, director of the Center for Environmental Science and Technology, will oversee the new degree program expected to begin in fall 2011.
Technical Assistance for Customer-Sited Rural Biomass Energy Projects in New York State
SUNY Cobleskill’s Agricultural Engineering department will partner with the New York Farm Viability Institute and the New York Biomass Energy Alliance to provide engineering and economic feasibility technical assistance to developers of customer-sited biomass energy projects.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business Enterprise Grant program, the project also funds paid internship opportunities for five SUNY Cobleskill students and will be managed by Doug Hammond, chair of the Agricultural Engineering department, and Assistant Professor Robert Rynk.
Child Care Development Block Grant
SUNY Cobleskill’s Child Care Center received $40,000 from SUNY and the Office of Children and Family Services for tuition subsidies for children of income eligible parents.
