Sandburg Board Approves 5 Grants Totaling More Than $765K
Aaron Frey
Thursday, September 3, 2020 2:00 PM
Campus News
Galesburg, IL
The Carl Sandburg College Board of Trustees approved and accepted funds for five external grants totaling more than $765,000 to support Sandburg students during its regular monthly meeting Aug. 27.
The Board accepted $257,300 as part of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) through the U.S. Department of Education. These funds must be used to support efforts to retain and enroll low-income, underrepresented and first-generation students who might otherwise not enroll or return to Sandburg because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sandburg also received $261,888 for the first year of a new five-year grant cycle for Sandburg’s TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program. Sandburg has hosted a TRIO SSS program since 1997. The program, which fully funded by the U.S. Department of Education, supports first-generation, income-eligible students with the goal of graduating from Sandburg and transferring to a four-year college or university.
The Board also approved Perkins V funding of $197,909 for fiscal year 2021 to provide equipment, professional development opportunities and co-curricular activities for career and technical education programs at the College.
Sandburg also was awarded a CTE Improvement Grant of $41,064 for fiscal year 2021 through the Illinois Community College Board. Funds from the grant will be used to finance professional development, ongoing support and equity training for career and technical education teachers in the region, including Sandburg faculty, dual credit instructors and area high school teachers. Among those opportunities will be the In2Ed Conference that Sandburg will host in 2021.
The Board also accepted a $7,500 grant for the Carl Sandburg College Foundation from the Galesburg Community Foundation, in collaboration with the Illinois COVID Response Fund, to provide emergency assistance to Sandburg students.
Staff and faculty representatives to the Board as well as the student trustee were sworn in for the 2020-21 academic year. Tracy Engstrom, coordinator of career resources, will serve as the staff representative for the second consecutive year. Dr. Gary Miracle, associate professor of chemistry, is the new faculty representative, and Makayla Crain will serve as the student trustee.
In other business, the Board approved the following:
- Employment of Kassidy St. Clair as coordinator of scholarships and donor relations, effective Sept. 1.
- Resignation of Veronica Marasa as administrative assistant for TRIO Upward Bound & Testing Center, effective Sept. 3.
The Board’s next scheduled meeting is 7 p.m. Sept. 24. Due to the coronavirus, a location has yet to be announced.