NCCC to expand partnerships with $2.1M in grant funding

Niagara County Community College is the recipient of four grants that will aid it in expanding community-based partnerships and programming, according to President James P. Klyczek. The grants will help NCCC develop community, school-based or professional development programs in suicide prevention, working with at-risk youth, Landmarks in American History and career and technical education.

"This series of grants will to greatly enhance NCCC's connection to the community and our outreach to schoolchildren, young adults and educators alike," said Klyczek. "Our Grants Office has been very proactive in seeking funding that will help the college to have a greater presence in secondary schools, as well as enhance the quality of life for area residents."

•The Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant Program awarded NCCC $147,854 over three years. The funds, which will be matched by NCCC each year, are granted through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. NCCC is one of 40 award recipients nationwide, with only six awards going to community colleges.

NCCC will use the funds to create a campus suicide prevention program with a focus on the campus environment in an effort to reduce suicidality in all its forms of expression among the entire population of students. NCCC will establish student peer groups, especially targeting the at-risk populations of veterans and their families, Native Americans, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

•The New York State Education Department has awarded NCCC $350,000 each year for five years. The Niagara Liberty Partnerships Program is a collaboration between NCCC and three Niagara County school districts - Lockport, Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda. The program's services are designed to provide effective interventions aimed at targeting 280 students "at-risk" of dropping out of school and providing them with academic, social and personal support.

•Landmarks in American History: Workshops for School Teachers from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The project, titled "Clinton's Ditch: Exploring the Erie Canal in Western New York," runs through Dec. 30. The $175,122 in funding will be used for two one-week workshops exploring themes in American history through a discussion on the construction of the Erie Canal. Workshops will include site visits, academic exercises, and interactive lectures from visiting and nationally renowned faculty. In addition to tours of Niagara Falls and Buffalo, attendees will visit the Lockport Locks, the Niagara escarpment, the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, and the Erie Canal Harbor. NCCC was one of 21 awardees nationwide and the only community college to be awarded.

•NCCC has received a $418,803 award through the 2012-13 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins IV) to enhance programs for its career and technical education students. Programs targeted by the award include enhancements to the college's surgical technology laboratory ($33,013), an improved medical assistant and phlebotomy laboratory ($67,393), a science tutoring center for students enrolled in CTE programs ($39,294), child care subsidies for students enrolled in CTE programs ($39,917), enhanced case management services for CTE developmental students ($119,593), and enhanced case management services for CTE students enrolled in the college's new Niagara Falls Culinary Institute ($119,593).

The funds will directly impact more than 1,500 CTE students enrolled at NCCC. Enhanced and improved laboratories, access to a science tutoring center and free child care, as well as improved services for developmental and Niagara Falls Culinary Institute CTE students will further allow students to master skills and prepare for employment.