Mini-Grant Awards - Aiken Technical College Foundation

2006-2007 Mini–Grant Awards

The Foundation awards grants from a limited amount of funds during the year to a variety of programs and projects that will directly benefit the college's community of students, faculty and staff. The Foundation directs mini-grant funding to the five following areas:

Scholarships
Professional Development
Facilities
Educational Equipment and Materials
Program Development and Expansion

Scholarships

In Memory of Esther B. Dickey, March 27, 1909 – February 1, 2007

Esther Dickey was educated at Eastman School of Music, Rochester NY, majoring in piano. She will be remembered as a very gracious and generous lady who was very philanthropic throughout her lifetime.

Ms. Dickey established the first gift annuity at Aiken Technical College in memory and honor of her late husband George Dickey. Her legacy is the George A. Dickey scholarship Endowment Fund for students enrolled full time at the College. Mr. George Dickey was a former ATC Foundation Board of Trustee member and a friend of founding ATC President Ashley J. Little. Mrs. Dickey was a true friend of the college and will be greatly missed. The George Dickey Scholarship Endowment will be awarded during the 2008-2009 academic year.

The ATC Foundation awarded 125 scholarships totaling over $95,000 to many talented and deserving students during the 2007-2008 academic year. This is possible due to the generosity of many individuals, businesses and organizations in our community who endow or sponsor these scholarships.

Professional Development

The Aiken Technical College Board of Trustees allocated $10,000 during the 2007-2008 academic year for faculty and staff professional development. Current recipients include:

Mary Commons, director of resource development, attended a Council for Resource Development Community College Alumni Development workshop in Baltimore Maryland in order to establish an Alumni Association.

Leroy Delionbach, program coordinator criminal justice, attended the South Carolina Coroners Association Annual Training conference and the South Carolina Crisis Negotiators Associating Training Conference.

Raymond Duffie, program coordinator industrial maintenance technology, took Primedia courses through Workforce and Business Development (WBD) to compare Primedia with industrial maintenance courses for articulation from the WBD side to the academic side for the purpose of expanding full time enrollment at the college. This will give WBD students the opportunity to continue their education and get a certificate or degree in the Industrial Maintenance program.

Facilities

Educational Equipment and Materials

The Workforce and Business Development Division added an additional confined space vessel to the existing unit. This project involves equipment and labor to restore the donated tank and connect it to the existing confined space trainer. A vendor/partner, Custom Machine and Welding, agreed to donate the equipment for this project. WBD was given $7500 to cover the cost of labor to complete the project. The completion of this expansion will enable WBD to add new programs and enhance existing Confined Space Rescue training.

Workforce and Business Development was given $2,690 to purchase a DAC 603 Trainer to meet corporate client needs using Primedia blended learning program’s hands-on-labs. The Trainer will support labs in four Primedia libraries: Industrial Maintenance, Chemical Operations, PLC, and ACI-Process Control.

Program Development and Expansion

ATC will begin a certificate RADCON Program in the fall of 2008. This is due to a contribution from URS’ Washington Division and Washington Savannah River Company.