Four institutions of higher education were recently awarded grants of $100,000 each from the National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The Homebuilding Education Leadership Program (HELP) grant is gifted to two- and four-year colleges and universities to help create, expand or enhance existing residential construction management programs.
In 2006, the National Housing Endowment launched the HELP program as the cornerstone of its education effort, and is its signature grant program. Through this program the Endowment has made a long-term commitment to establish closer relationships with institutions of higher education. Key goals of the HELP program include encouraging academic institutions to provide residential education tracks and/or programs that respond to the current issues of the home building industry, and increasing the number of qualified college graduates entering the residential construction profession.
"In order for the home building industry to continue to strive for excellence, we must foster opportunities for the next generation to learn and develop skills from educational programs that are equipped to provide the latest and greatest in technology and theory," said Gary Garczynski, chairman of the National Housing Endowment and 2002 NAHB Past President. "The four institutions awarded the grant money have shown a strong commitment to providing the best education and will raise the level of professionalism in our industry for generations to come."
The Endowment's board of trustees selected four schools who will each receive HELP grant funding over the next two years:
California Polytechnic University - San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo, Calif., will use their HELP funding to support the development of a unique and challenging curriculum.
Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Ala., will benefit from program expansion with an increased service area and the ability to recruit more traditional students to their program.
John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill., will establish an NAHB student chapter and advisory board and incorporate Residential Construction Academy classes into the curriculum.
Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., will build upon the strengths of their program, where 80 percent of graduates currently go to work in the residential construction industry each year.
Last year the National Housing Endowment awarded pilot HELP grants to East Carolina University, Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
For more information on the HELP grant, call the National Housing Endowment at (800) 368-5242, ext. 8483 or visit www.nationalhousingendowment.org/education.htm.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL HOUSING ENDOWMENT: The National Housing Endowment, established in 1987 by the National Association of Home Builders, will help the industry develop more effective approaches to home building, enhance the ways we educate and train future generations of leaders in residential construction and increase the body of knowledge on housing issues. We will do so by supporting innovate and effective programs that further education, training and research. The cornerstone of National Housing Endowment's education program is the Homebuilding Education Leadership Program (HELP) which is a long-term commitment to award seed grants to leading two- and four-year colleges and universities to help them create, expand, or enhance existing residential construction management programs or develop new programs in that academic area. For more information about the National Housing Endowment, please visit the National Housing Endowment Web site at www.nationalhousingendowment.org.
ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington, D.C.-