Montgomery College Receives $500,000 Donation to Help Students Enroll in Workforce Programs and Gain Employment
Automotive technology students at MC learn from experts in the field, get hands-on education, and prepare for industry certifications. The RIS gift supports students seeking workforce skills plus it establishes two staff positions: a workforce scholarship specialist and a program coordinator, who will provide specialized services to students, collect data, and report outcomes.
Starting this year, a new Workforce Development and Continuing Education (WDCE) scholarship will assist 50 to 60 students with job training and certification expenses. In July, the Montgomery College Foundation announced the establishment of the Robert I. Schattner (RIS) Job Training and Certification Scholarship, a $500,000 gift to establish the scholarship.
Award recipients are students pursuing eligible career path courses with the intention to obtain employment (and ready to work by June 30, 2024). They receive up to $4,000 to be used to cover training tuition, fees, and required books, plus career navigation, certification exam fees, and/or emergency assistance, if needed.
Dr. Robert I. Schattner, researcher, dentist, and inventor, died in 2017, but his philanthropy continues via the Robert I. Schattner Foundation.
Students choose from nearly 90 eligible WDCE courses, including: information technology, early childhood education, hospitality, health sciences/nursing, project management, income tax preparation, HVAC technician, and solar technician.
“We truly appreciate this partnership that enables students to move immediately from college training programs to well-paying jobs with the least number of social and economic barriers,” says RIS President and Chairman Sidney Bresler. “Our foundation believes this investment in a skilled and well-trained workforce that is supported in multiple ways toward success changes the trajectory for students, their families, and our community.”
The RIS gift also supports two staff positions: a workforce scholarship specialist and a program coordinator, who will provide specialized services to students, collect data, and report outcomes. It will also pay for nursing equipment for skills labs at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus and the future East County Education Center, among other MC locations.
The Robert I. Schattner Foundation is a private charitable foundation established in 1992 by Dr. Robert I. Schattner, who invented Chloraseptic and another line of products known as Sporicidin. The overriding goal of the Robert I. Schattner Foundation is simple and straight forward: “to make grants where they will do the most good and where our gifts will make a real difference.” This investment in the future of students in the community that Dr. Schattner called home helps ensure his legacy of impacting positive change continues.
The Schattner Foundation gift will support career programs like the certified nursing assistant program, where students learn basic nursing skills such as taking vital signs, assuring patient safety, and caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.
For more information about this or other scholarship opportunities for WDCE students, visit the WDCE Career Path Scholarship webpage.