Solano Community College has been awarded a combined $722,715 from two grants, which the school will use to underwrite educational opportunities for students, Yashica J. Crawford, chief of staff, said.

The larger of the two awards is a $622,715 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Scholarship Grant from the National Science Foundation.

Crawford said the college will use the money during the next five years to underwrite 165 scholarships to “academically talented and financially needy” students.

Dr. Jowel Laguerre, outgoing superintendent-president of SCC, said he was pleased with the award. “I am happy that SCC received the grant,” he said. “This is the second time within one year that we received an NSF grant.

“I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to Professors Genele Rhoads, Chuck Spillner and Zhen Chen, Drs. Jose Ballesteros and John Yu, Cynthia Garcia, Peter Cammish, Pei-Lin Van’t Hul and others who were involved,” Laguerre said.

Rhoads, director of the project and president of the Solano County Mathematics Education Association, said, “The 2+1 STEM scholarship grant from the National Science Foundation provides a wonderful opportunity for Solano Community College to support academically talented students who want to study and work in a STEM field.”

In particular, the grant may be able to help students who are the first in their family to attend college as well as those who would find it difficult to pay for a higher education, Rhoads said. “In addition to financial support, the program includes counseling and mentoring and provides opportunities for tutoring, internships and special projects,” she said.

“We are very excited to see our deserving STEM students be rewarded for their hard work with these scholarships,” said Leslie Minor, vice president of Academic Affairs. “We look forward to seeing great things from them in future.”

Dr. John Yu, dean of the School of Math and Science, credited Laguerre’s leadership and SCC’s STEM programs as keys to the college securing the grant. “The chance of receiving an NSF STEM scholarship grant is about 10 to 15 percent, and it is a very competitive process,” Yu said.

The grant will be used to award between 25 to 35 scholarships a year to students in astronomy, biology, biotech, chemistry, CADD, Computer Science, Engineering, Geology/Geography, Horticulture, Mathematics, Physics, Surveying, and Water/Waste Water Treatment.

If these students transfer to a four-your institution in a STEM major, they will be awarded an additional year to continue their study at that institution. The scholarship support will average $3,000 per year per student.

SCC also has been awarded a California Community College Linked Learning Work-Based Learning Program grant for $100,000, based on a proposed work-based learning program for grades 9-12 and SCC students for automotive occupations.

The program will culminate in internships with large dealers for SCC and Los Medanos Community College students, said Deborah Mann, director of Workforce Development Grants.

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