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Prince George's Community College highlights $5M Arnold Ventures award, $1M anonymous gift and calls for restored CAED funding
Summary
Prince George's Community College President Felicia Williams briefed the delegation on multiple national initiatives — a $5 million Arnold Ventures-supported replication of CUNY ASAP (Wise Path), Aspen Institute and Gates Foundation partnerships, and a $1,000,000 anonymous gift — and urged restoration of the CAED funding formula to increase state support.
Prince George’s Community College President Felicia Williams told the Prince George's County House Delegation on Feb. 6 that the college had been selected for multiple national capacity-building initiatives and had received new philanthropic support that will expand scholarships and wraparound student services.
Williams said the college is participating in the Maryland transfer initiative and leads a ‘‘triad’’ with other institutions to reduce credit-loss in transfers. She said the college was selected for a CUNY ASAP replication model the college has branded ‘‘Wise Path’’ and that Arnold Ventures is funding the effort with $5,000,000 over four years to subsidize roughly 500 full scholarships plus monthly supplements to help with basic needs such as transportation and food.
Williams also said the college is one of 55 institutions selected for the Aspen Institute’s Unlocking Opportunity initiative, and that Achieving the Dream and the Gates Foundation have selected the college for a wraparound support initiative to build early-warning technology and referral systems. She said the college also received a $1,000,000 anonymous gift that has been leveraged to add scholarships in accelerated programs.
On state funding, Williams urged attention to the CAED formula, saying the governor’s 3% across-the-board allocation was welcome but that the CAED formula would have yielded approximately 7.9% for Prince George’s based on performance measures. She emphasized that need-based aid and basic-needs supports remain critical because students often leave for nonacademic financial reasons.
Delegates asked about local scholarship outreach and how delegate/senate scholarship programs are publicized; Williams proposed posting scholarships on the college site and working with delegates’ liaisons to reach part-time and first-generation students. She also described research findings showing the college’s success transferring STEM graduates of color to four-year institutions.
Next steps: The college’s legislative priorities were placed on the delegation record; delegates and college staff agreed to follow up on scholarship communication and coordinating available local delegate scholarship dollars to fill immediate needs.
