Federal Grant To LaGuardia
October 25th, 2007 - Posted in College Grant, EducationA new federal grant awarded to LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City will help provide increased educational services to veterans.
Recently, the college’s Veterans Program was awarded a $250,000 a year grant for the next five years from the U.S. Department of Education’s Veterans Upward Bound program.
For Samuel Farrell, director of the college’s veterans center, the grant is the culmination of 12 years of work. The veterans program has been in place since 1972, but had to scale back services in 1995 due to a shortage in funding.
Now, Farrell said, the center can once again offer a “full, comprehensive program,†including GED equivalency and college preparatory courses. The center’s class offerings will also include academic courses in reading, writing, math, computer skills, science and Spanish.
According to Sandra Watson, dean of the college’s division of adult and continuing education, the center will hire a full staff of case manager advisers, tutors and adjunct professors to assist veterans with vocational skills and career development. The center will also seek out veterans for its staff.
Farrell said the center will help match soldiers’ military experiences with the civilian world.
“We’re just thrilled to be able to provide these services to men and women who have done so much for our community,†Watson added.