Project Title:
American Baptist College National Telecommunications and Information Administration Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program Grant Proposal
Funding Program:
Connecting Minority Communities Program
Project Purpose/Type:
The American Baptist College (ABC) Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program project aims to improve the technological capabilities of American Baptist College, identify the “Digital Deserts” in a 15-mile radius of the college, aid those communities, and improve the technological services provided to students at American Baptist College and to many others in the surrounding area. The project will allow for an increase in developed technologies for proper usage and will help to mediate and eradicate what are known as “Digital Deserts” or “Dead Zones” in the anchor communities.
City/Town/Service Area:
State(s):
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$2,992,248.23Funding Amount$2,992,248.23Total Project Cost0.00Non-Federal Cost Share
- Upgrade the College's campus technologies and digital capabilities
- Provide equipment and training to students, staff and faculty
- Directly target needed digital access and services in technologically-starved areas of the community and expand its existing outreach programs
- Deliver educational and support classes to all program users
- Hire staff and buy equipment for Training centers, both on campus and for community sites.
- American Baptist College will make vital improvements to its campus infrastructure and technical inventory.
- Upgrade student, faculty and staff issued computing equipment
- Foster an increase in the available bandwidth on campus
- Support new Network and Smart Classroom technology, and make it possible to provide campus-wide internet access.
- Create the opportunity for the College to hire full and part-time staff
- Engage students in technical work programs
- Provide training courses for the entire College family to include community residents who are program users.
- Provide needed support in the IT workplace
- Expand the College’s outreach programs
- Aid the College in student support services.
- Digital learning in parallel with online course delivery will help with student retention and recruitment, spawning increases in enrollment.
- Enable the College to serve as a Technology Hub for anchor communities and the families living in residences within a 15-mile radius of the campus.
The project will benefit students, staff, and faculty members of American Baptist College (ABC) in Nashville, Tennessee. The project will also benefit ABC's anchor communities within the Middle Tennessee YMCA organization. The increase in broadband participation will mitigate the issue of the “Digital Deserts” or “Dead Zones” in the anchor communities.
The recipient does not intend to subaward funds.
The applicant does fund a consortium. The applicant’s activities do occur in the surrounding anchor communities. The community organizations are part of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee and both organizations are unfunded collaborators providing space for CMC project-related computer centers.