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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WORCESTER STATE COLLEGE RECEIVES TWO CITI GRANTS

(WORCESTER – May 20, 2005) Worcester State College (WSC) received two 2005 Higher Education Grants from the Commonwealth Information Technology Initiative (CITI) for a total of $68,500. WSC received two out of 13 awards (3 regional and 10 institutional) from among 42 statewide proposals.

According to WSC’s Computer Science Department Chair Aparna Mahadev, WSC received grants from both the institutional and regional award categories.  “We received $55,000 to set up a partnership with Bristol Community College, Salem State College and UMass Amherst to build connections with industry for internships and recruitment relationships, to develop recruitment materials based on profiles of specific employees—including women and minorities—and employment opportunities that rely upon the integration of IT and create a statewide ITAC online course sharing compact,” said Dr. Mahadev, who is the primary investigator for the regional grant. 

The institutional grant was for $13,500 to strengthen the existing Information Technology minor at Worcester State College.  According to WSC Computer Science Professor Karl Wurst, who will serve as the primary investigator for this grant, “this project addresses necessary changes and enhancements to our IT minor, including moving the minor to an interdisciplinary concentration in IT, developing additional core courses, identify additional course topics, develop online courses and develop marketing materials for student recruitment. It will provide a wonderful opportunity for students interested in this field.”

Established in 2000 to strengthen computer and information systems education across the 28 public community colleges, state colleges, and university campuses, CITI has a strong record of accomplishment. In 2004, CITI received support from the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Pipeline fund managed by the Board of Higher Education. This renewed BHE funding, leveraged by private donations, enables CITI to invest strategically in K-20 public education curricula and programs, and teacher development, through partnerships, to promote information technology proficiency, fluency and literacy.

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