CCAC Recieves $3 Million from Richard King Mellon Foundation

The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) has been awarded a three million dollar grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to support health care, green technology, science and math programs.

The grant is the largest CCAC has ever received in its 45 year history. $1.27 million will go to providing equipment for the allied health program at CCAC; $810,000 for an instructional lab aimed to promote energy efficient careers and public education. CCAC's West Hills Center in Oakdale will be awarded $680,000 for a new science lab, and $240,000 will be used to construct Math Cafés at all of CCAC's branches and in two of the centers.

Rose Ann DiCola, executive director of CCAC's education foundation says that 51% of the students who come to CCAC need to take developmental math classes, meaning that the students are not ready for college level math.

"When you look at the data of the students that need to take the developmental math classes, if they are not able to progress well in those classes it really puts them in jeopardy of not being able to complete their college course work."

The Math Cafés will provide space for additional tutoring services and an environment for faculty and students to better interact so the students will succeed.