August 29, 2014. Salt Lake Community College has been awarded part of more than $17.3 million being offered by NASA’s Office of Education through the National Space Grant and Fellowship Program with the goal of increasing student and faculty engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at community colleges and technical schools around the country.
“We are thrilled to be part of the grant awarded to the NASA Rocky Mountain Consortium,” said Clifton Sanders, SLCC interim provost. “This award will enable SLCC to expand its STEM outreach to under-represented populations, provide scholarship opportunities for our students, and accelerate our development of aerospace-related Engineering Technology programs.”
The grants coming out of the NASA program are worth up to $500,000 and are shared by Space Grant Consortia that operate in every state. The Colorado Space Grant Consortium, for example, allows students and faculty opportunities to take part in STEM activities that include designing, building, and launching high-altitude balloon payloads.
In Utah SLCC is expected to receive about $275,000 of a grant it shares with other state institutions, including the University of Utah. SLCC’s goals with the grant include providing student scholarships in engineering, developing a new Composites Engineering track, enhancing existing engineering curriculum with aerospace components, and providing faculty with development opportunities in aerospace.
