CVCC to use $2M grant to target would-be engineers

By Christa Desrets

Published: June 5, 2008

Central Virginia Community College plans to use a $2 million National Science Foundation grant to provide more scholarships to more engineering students from more locations.

The college announced Thursday that it has been awarded the grant to use over five years for its engineering program with the University of Virginia. The money will fund scholarships for potentially hundreds of students, said Stan Shoun, vice president of workforce development at CVCC.

“Over the five years, we hope to bring a total of 340 new engineers to the state of Virginia,” Shoun said.

Many of those will come from Central Virginia, he said, but some also will come from two new areas.

Danville Community College this fall will serve as a second site for the program, and a third site will soon be determined, Shoun said.

Part of the funding also will go to UVa for building infrastucture and services for the program, Shoun said. A small portion will be used for career counseling services, mentoring and equipment at each site.

CVCC already has received funding for the first three years of the grant, Shoun said, and will receive the remainder after meeting certain enrollment and graduation benchmarks.

According to the grant application, by the end of the fifth year the school hopes to have enrolled 260 students, graduated at least 50 percent of them, and reached a stable enrollment of at least 80 at UVa.

Produced in Virginia, as the program has been named, will enroll its second year of students at CVCC this fall. In its first year, the program enrolled 143 students, 72 who were sponsored by Region 2000 companies.

Students in the program complete their first two years of a four-year engineering degree while at CVCC. Starting in the 2009-10 school year, those who finish with at least a 3.4 grade point average are guaranteed admission into UVa’s School of Engineering. They can then complete their four-year degree in Charlottesville or from CVCC’s main campus in Lynchburg.

The program includes coursework for students in electrical, mechanical and materials science engineering.

The upcoming fall semester will be the first time the program is offered at Danville Community College, said Wade Davenport, dean of arts and sciences.

“It makes possible for many who couldn’t leave the area to actually stay and become engineers,” he said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for people in the region, also for businesses in the region.”

Shoun said the program is important for Central Virginia and beyond because of a high demand for engineers.

CVCC has worked to introduce students as young as middle-school age to possible future careers in technology-related fields.

It’s an initiative that has been widely supported both by the NSF and others.

Last week, the college announced that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine had approved a $300,000 grant for CVCC to provide 32 engineering scholarships, to refund partial company sponsorships and to update physics labs.

The college also has received two previous NSF grants.

Several years ago, a $900,000 NSF grant funded the creation of a nuclear engineering technicians program, and last year the foundation gave CVCC a $67,000 grant in support of planning to make the college a National Training Center for the energy industry.

The college currently is in the process of preparing to submit those plans, which ask for an additional $1 million to $5 million to become an educational leader in training workers in the energy field.