Tompkins Cortland Selected for NSF-Funded Project Vision

Project Vision logo

Tompkins Cortland Community College has been selected to join Project Vision, an initiative supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) designed to catalyze submissions of proposals from two-year colleges not previously associated with NSF Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) programs. Tompkins Cortland is part of a group of 13 two-year colleges that comprise the second cohort of the five-year project. 

Not only does Project Vision teams help each two-year college generate an innovative idea that aligns with DUE funding, but Project Vision supports capacity building at each college, so that these colleges can regularly submit proposals to NSF. Specifically, Project Vision’s staff and team of subject matter experts work with local faculty and staff to write grants that will have greater chances of receiving funding in the highly competitive NSF landscape. The Project also assists in setting up greater administrative support at the College for these efforts. 

“We are very appreciative to have the opportunity through Project Vision to build the College's capacity to apply for grants to the National Science Foundation, as this will keep our STEM and applied STEM offerings vibrant and allow us to support our talented STEM-affiliated faculty,” said Tompkins Cortland Associate Provost Malvika Talwar. “Being a rural community college, we are also excited to examine how we can have an impact on our local communities and workforce pipelines through the NSF Advanced Technological Education grants.”

As part of its mission, Project Vision specifically targets diverse, small, rural colleges, and/or colleges with newer presidents. Tompkins Cortland fit all the criteria, so President Orinthia Montague reached out to Project Vision to initiate the process of getting the College included in this cohort. The success of that effort will allow the College to benefit from Project Vision support at all levels of the college ecosystem including Board of Trustees, administrators, faculty, and staff. Part of the Project Vision mission is to provide each college the support needed to build up their capacity and to regularly submit proposals, as deemed appropriate, to the NSF Advanced Technology Education Program and other DUE programs. 

“This exciting opportunity provides much-needed support to diverse but rural community colleges like ours, who too often are overlooked in grant funding,” said Tompkins Cortland Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Paul Reifenheiser. “I want to thank President Montague for connecting us with Project Vision. We look forward to them assisting our excellent faculty and staff produce award-worthy grant proposals.”  

The 13 colleges selected to participate in this Project Vision cohort are: 
• Arkansas State University - Newport 
• Berkshire Community College 
• Corning Community College 
• Des Moines Area Community College 
• Edgecombe Community College 
• Gallatin College Montana State University 
• Glen Oaks Community College 
• Maysville Community Technical College 
• Miles Community College 
• Minnesota West Community College 
• Montcalm Community College 
• The College of Menominee Nation 
• Tompkins Cortland Community College

About the National Science Foundation’s ATE Program With an emphasis on two-year colleges, the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program focuses on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy. The program involves partnerships between academic institutions and industry to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels. The ATE program supports curriculum development; professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers; career pathways to two-year colleges from secondary schools and from two-year colleges to four-year institutions; and other activities. 

For more information about Project Vision, visit www.projectvis.org.