Seattle Community Colleges Receive $5 Million Grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $5 million Challenge Grant to the Seattle Community Colleges.

The grant, among the largest ever given by the Gates Foundation to a community college, was given to help the multi-college district kick off a major gifts campaign.  

“Community colleges are an important gateway to opportunity for people in our city, and we're honored to support the Seattle Community Colleges in their efforts to provide the best tools for students developing skills in science, math, and manufacturing,” said foundation co-chair William H. Gates, Sr.

First recipients of the funds will be two capital projects requested by the colleges: A total of $1 million each is allocated for building the Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center at South Seattle Community College and for equipping science and math programs at Seattle Central Community College.

The Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center, located at the Duwamish Center of South Seattle Community College, will house education and services for trade apprentices and area businesses. The new building, on the site of the historic Hat & Boots property on East Marginal Way, is scheduled to open for classes in Fall 2007.

The grant was officially announced at the Nov. 2 dedication of the new Science and Math building at Seattle Central Community College, which opened this fall to students in biological sciences, biotechnology, chemistry, earth and environmental sciences, math, physics, astronomy and computer science. A nearby Plant Sciences Laboratory will be used by multiple academic disciplines.    

The remainder of the grant is directed toward emergency grants for students and instructional and laboratory equipment at all of the colleges and is earmarked for distribution at the conclusion of the $25 million capital campaign.

“The Seattle Community Colleges are grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” said Seattle Community Colleges Chancellor Charles H. Mitchell. “This leadership gift is a milestone for the Seattle Community Colleges. A gift of this magnitude, along with others, will transform the lives of our students and help our region to achieve its goals.”

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The Seattle Community Colleges educate 54,000 students each year at Seattle Central Community College, North Seattle Community College, South Seattle Community College, Seattle Vocational Institute, and five specialized training centers throughout the city.