In the latest edition of Community College Journal, Corey Murray takes a detailed look at emerging green fields and what they want mean for community colleges — specifically CC grant writers. Community College Times released a section of the article here.
Murray points out that many community colleges are coming up with funding for new green-related programs “not within the depleted line items of fiscal-year budgets, but in the ability to identify and to win grants.”
“I think it’s wonderful when you can get a grant,” says Debra Rowe, professor of energy management and renewable energy technology at Michigan’s Oakland Community College (OCC) and president of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development.
“But you need to have somebody who is willing to put the time in, either to write the grant itself for the community colleges or to do a partnership with other members of the community.”
Rowe, who has dedicated much of her time to combing the public domain to keep abreast of green job opportunities, says it’s imperative that colleges do their homework before investing time and money into applying for grants.
“Sometimes it’s hard to identify where this money is coming from,” she says. “But there are resources out there to help you get started.”
For colleges that are targeting green grants, EMSI has a green jobs resources page. Especially applicable is this piece on green labor market analysis and responding to job training grants.