WEI Grant has received $2.25 million in funding for FY 23 and FY 24 (Combined)

The Workforce Equity Initiative (WEI) Grant has successfully applied for and received a continuation of $ 1,000,000.00 in Grant funding for the Workforce Equity Initiative (WEI) Grant for FY 2024. The grant funds cover the cost of tuition, books, and other supportive and wrap-around services for students taking Credit and Non-Credit courses. These courses lead to entry and advancement into high-demand fields, such as Healthcare, Transportation and Logistics, Fire Science, and more. The WEI Grant team surpassed its goal of committing to providing service to 300 students by serving over 430 students between October 1, 2022, the present.  

The FY 24 Grant will run from July 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024. Additional programs covered are Dialysis Technician, Physical Therapist Assistant, and Welding. 

The WEI Grant team has provided HVAC Equipment bags to 9 students completing their HVAC program in December. Furthermore, the WEI Grant has begun partnering with the Career Services Department at Prairie State College to provide Strong Interest and Myers Briggs Surveys to over 800 students. The Fire Academy has tripled enrollment with registrations and tuition payments for the FA 23 semester.  

The WEI Grant has begun reaching out to students to obtain employment data and intends to provide stipends based upon an additional $250,000.00 in funding applied for and awarded to Prairie State College through ICCB. 

Today at PSC: 

Today at PSC was created to reduce communication from PSC announcements, events will be selected from the calendar and sent in an email each morning. If no events are happening that day, no email will be sent. We will continue This Week at PSC on Mondays and schedule Today at PSC Tuesday - Friday. That way, we can share a preview of the week and use Today at PSC as a daily reminder. 

If you have an event approaching, please be sure it is added to the events calendar >> Calendar Listing Form. 

Connect with PSC Athletics on social media! 

• Twitter - @PSCPioneers

• Facebook - Prairie State College Athletics

• Instagram - @prairiestatecollegeathletics

Art Institute of Chicago University Partner Program

As University Partners of the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC), students and College employees are invited to visit the galleries and explore all that the museum has to offer. The AIC is highlighting some notable upcoming exhibitions, “like Dan Friedman: Stay Radical, which will include over 50 works drawn primarily from the Art Institute collection and will be the first museum retrospective focused on Dan Friedman’s extraordinary and underrecognized career. Additionally, students can look forward to Picasso: Drawing from Life, an exhibition centered on the artist’s works on paper, which focuses on Picasso’s life and art as it intersected with a network of artists, dealers, printers, family members, and lovers.” Faculty are invited to share these and other upcoming exhibitions with students and make plans to visit the AIC with them. The Foundation can assist with student transportation costs—faculty should contact the office for more information. 

Next year’s University Partner Fest will be on February 24, 2024. Participants can look forward to joining students from the AIC University Partner schools for another year of gallery activations, museum insight, and student gallery talks. Be on the lookout for more updates as the year progresses, and make sure to add UPF 2024 to your calendar.

This season, the AIC is featuring a new slate of programming at the museum, including Artist Talks, Exhibition Presentations, and Gallery Tours. Earlier this summer, the AIC introduced Spanish Language tours at the museum Visitas Guiadas en Español, which were launched in conjunction with the recent Salvador Dali exhibition. The tours have continued to serve museum visitors who speak Spanish and are available to interested visitors. Check out the AIC’s Events Calendar for more information about these offerings to share with students. 

The AIC can be an extension of the classroom or an academic department, whether or not a class is related to art. Complete the Gallery Activation for College and University Classes form, and someone will get back to you as soon as possible to connect with the educators in the Department of Interpretation regarding the best way to combine their expertise with yours to support the work of your students, your colleagues, and yourself. 

Examples of collaborations might include working with a museum educator to design a gallery experience specific to a topic in your class, requesting recommendations of artworks in their collection that are relevant to your coursework, developing a workshop for faculty wishing to practice teaching with art objects, partnering on a study, and more.

African-American Women’s Scholarship Fund

Ms. Cheri Taylor-Lawton approached the Foundation about starting a scholarship fund for African-American women. The Foundation Board of Directors has determined not to start any new scholarship funds unless they are created with an endowment, which is a minimum donation of $10,000. Since the Foundation does not have a fund specifically directed at this vital group, it was decided to make an exception, and now numerous people are donating to this fund through employee payroll deductions and tributes. The funds will be collected and put in an account until it reaches $10,000, when it will officially be an endowed scholarship. 

Anyone interested in donating to this fund or holding a “mini-fundraiser” to build up this fund should contact the Foundation.

John B. Abate Memorial Scholarship Fund

The Foundation is proud to announce that Associate Professor Brianna Abate’ and her family have started an endowed scholarship in memory of her late father, John B. Abate. Once the Foundation has held the initial investment for one year, the interest will be used to award scholarships. 85% of the investment income is put into an account from which the Foundation can award the scholarship; 10% of the earnings go back to the principal to help build the fund; and 5% is a fee charged by the Foundation as a management fee, and that goes to the general fund.

Tributes

Donors can have a personalized card sent to anyone they would like to honor, be it for a birthday, job promotion, anniversary, etc., for a minimum donation of $5 per tribute. Tributes can also be sent in memory of someone’s loved one, and the card will go to the intended recipient. This is a great way to let someone know you appreciate or are thinking of them. Tribute donations can go to any fund the donor chooses.

Recent Tributes 

Deb Havigorst and Susan Sebastian: September 5, 2023

Deb Havighorst and Susan Sebastian donated to the Foundation’s African American Women’s Scholarship in Honor of the tenure appointments of Monique Campbell, Assistant Professor/Clinical Coordinator, Surgical Technology, and Kimberly Pina, Assistant Professor, Certified Nursing Assistant.

Deb Havighorst and Susan Sebastian donated to the Foundation’s African American Women’s Scholarship in Honor of Yvette McGhee, earning the Cost of Attendance Credential from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Joyce Morgan Michael

Foundation Director Joyce Morgan Michael made a generous donation to the Foundation’s Chicago Heights-Park Forest Rotary Club Scholarship in honor of birthdays of Lorriane Michael, Robert A. Michael, Benjamin Thieme, Dr. Lenell Navarre, and John Spomar III.

Oshunda Williams: September 18, 2023

Oshunda Williams, Manager of Academic Advising, made a generous donation to the Foundation’s African American Women’s Scholarship in Honor of the Academic Advising staff, including Deneen Brackett, Recruiter/Academic Advisor; Landon Dickerson, Academic Advisor; Jennifer Forbes, Pathway Advisor; Marquita Gill, FYE Navigator; Raeann Gist, FYE Navigator; Tanner Kuehn, Pathway Advisor, Athletics; Carina Lowe, Pathways Advisor, Allied Health and Emergency Services; and, Carlos Reyes, Recruiter / Academic Advisor. 

The Board of Trustees' regular monthly meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. To view information from the Board of Trustees, including meeting agendas, minutes. and audio/video recordings, visit Board Meetings.