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Grants Administration

Computer Science, Mathematics & Technology (CMT)
Academic Rewards Program

Overview and Local Need

Calhoun Community College (Calhoun) is the largest two-year public college in Alabama . Calhoun has a state mandated service area of Lawrence , Limestone, Madison , and Morgan counties in North Alabama . Calhoun is the only state, public community college offering both transfer education and technology training at the associate degree level for the Metropolitan Statistical Area's (MSA) of Decatur and Huntsville .

Huntsville area companies employ thousands of workers to apply their skills in electronics, aerospace, software development, and data transmission. Huntsville ranks fifth in the nation in software employment, according to the Software and Information Industry Association.  More than 50 Fortune 500 companies, including Boeing and DaimlerChrysler Corporation have operations in Huntsville . Companies such as Avex Electronics, Teledyne Brown, Scientific Atlantic, Computer Science Corporation and Lockheed Martin have offices in Huntsville 's corporate neighborhood known as Cummings Research Park (CRP). CRP is home to a uniquely focused alliance of business, government and academic research initiatives with more than 220 companies active in more than 40 separate technology fields. Calhoun's Huntsville Campus is located in CRP and only five minutes away from Redstone Arsenal where the U.S. Army employs over 12,800 personnel and NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center employs over 2,700 employees. In a 1999 national study by the Milken Institute, Huntsville had a high-tech employment of 34,380. The Institute ranked Huntsville high on several indices: 9th on overall concentration of high-tech services; 3rd on output of guided missiles, space vehicles, and parts; 7th on computer and data processing services; and 2nd on engineering and architectural services output. Huntsville is home to SCI Systems, the largest contract manufacturer in the nation, and Avex Electronics, the 8th largest. 3 The Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates (WEFA) placed Huntsville in second place nationally for the highest concentration of high-tech workers. Huntsville's high ranking stems from strong employment in technology-oriented industries for Guided Missiles and Space Vehicles.

Figure 1 documents the latest projections for high technology employment growth through the year 2010 for the Huntsville and Decatur MSA's.

To support this intense need for a skilled workforce, Calhoun has established an Advanced Aerospace and Technology Park to assist in educating a diverse and technically skilled workforce in aerospace and advanced technologies. Newly approved programs to be housed in Technology Park include Network Technology and Advanced Process Manufacturing. The Aerospace Training Center provides a facility for training workers for such companies as Boeing and Adtran. These technical programs are designed to be multi-disciplinary and incorporate math and computer science courses into the advanced technologies curricula.

There is a demand for graduates of these programs as documented above. Calhoun has responded by developing high quality, industry approved curricula. Capable, motivated graduates with the requisite skills and training are needed; graduates that reflect the diversity of the College's service area population which is now 18% Black, 2.25% Hispanic and 78% White with Lawrence County 5.4% American Indian. The Department of Computer Information Systems, the Division of Mathematics, the Technology Division, and the Student Services Division of Calhoun Community College collaboratively seek funding of $100,000 each year, for four years, to improve the likelihood of success for academically talented, financially needy students, who plan to enter the disciplines of computer information systems, mathematics/pre-engineering and advanced technology (CMT). Women and minorities have traditionally comprised a small number of high technology college graduates nationally and locally. Calhoun plans to specifically recruit these populations as CMT Academic Rewards Program Scholars.

Results from Prior NSF Support

Related prior NSF support has included funding for Calhoun's Visualization Technology Computer Laboratory (Award DUE 9752014), 1997 - 1998. Dr. Sue Mitchell served as the Principal Investigator for the project. The project provided support to academic programs in science, engineering, and computer technology. Workshops in Robotics, 3D modeling and animation, and scientific imaging and analysis have been conducted continuously since the inception of the Visualization Technology Computer Laboratory.

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