Springfield, MA
Springfield, MA – On Friday, October 4, 2019, United States Congressman Richard E. Neal joined AIC President Vincent Maniaci, Bay Path University President Dr. Carol A. Leary and faculty and staff from both schools to announce federal grant awards from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). AIC received a 5-year $2,199,766 award and Bay Path University received a 5-year $2,248,908 award for the DOE’s Title III Strengthening Institutions Program.
“These grants from the United States Department of Education are incredibly competitive,” said Congressman Richard E. Neal. “The fact that we have two award recipients right here in western Massachusetts is a true testament to the caliber of learning institutions here in the Valley. Congratulations to both AIC and Bay Path University. I am confident that they will be used to continue both institutions’ goals of preparing our students for life after graduation.”
“This grant is a tremendous boon to AIC’s mission to provide our students with a premier education and encourage them to hone the skills necessary to be competitive in the global job market,” said AIC President Vince Maniaci. “AIC’s Plan for Excellence (APEX) program is exemplary of the College’s forward-thinking approach to investing in those who will shape the future. The Title III Grant will allow us to better serve our undergraduate students and to ensure that they are ready to meet whatever challenges lie ahead.”
The APEX program at AIC is a comprehensive approach for undergraduate students to develop a solid foundation for a lifetime of personal and professional success through four main learning goals: intellectual development and lifelong learning; personal growth; social and cultural competency; and career and professional development. The funding will be used to develop the program through hiring new faculty and staff, improving technology needs, develop curriculum, among other project costs.
“We are honored to receive this grant,” states Bay Path President Carol A. Leary. “This funding will allow us to enhance our current student-centric support, and provide us with increased capabilities to use predictive analytics and data to provide timely interventions for the challenges students encounter along their academic journey.”
At Bay Path, the grant will help guide students along their academic pathway leading to the career they envision, align and deliver services holistically to support their success, and integrate new and existing systems to streamline communications and information-sharing to better serve and support students. As a result, persistence, retention and degree completion will increase as students achieve more clarity about where they want to go and how to get there.
AIC and Bay Path University are two of only 36 nonprofit colleges and universities across the United States that were awarded this grant this year.
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