New National IT Innovation Center to be run by Columbus State Community College

Columbus State Community College is slated to launch a new center thanks to a federal grant worth $7.5 million. The new center will be focused on creating and scaling up the school’s high demand training capabilities to better fuel the technology based economic growth both in the region and across the country.

The National Information Technology Innovation Center (NITIC) will work with community colleges across the country, employers, and other members of the community to train technicians in high level skills through credential programs that take at most two years to complete. Columbus State Community College will act as the lead institution in the NITIC while being joined by partners from Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio, Maricopa Community Colleges in Phoenix, Arizona, Lone Star College in Houston, Texas, and Collin College in McKinney, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

The NITIC is funded through the National Science Foundation as part of its Advanced Technological Education (or ATE) program, and will be the only ATE national center that is focused on IT education. The demand for Information Technology training is currently very high, with technician jobs in STEM-enabled industries expected to double the rate of average American job growth in the next decade.

In an article posted on Columbus State Community College’s website, the school’s President David Harrison was quoted about this new development, saying, “We’re pleased to lead the way with the National Information Technology Innovation Center, which will play a crucial role in America’s tech economy. Employer needs are changing rapidly. NITIC will provide best practices in employer partnerships, adopt new technologies as they emerge and partner with community colleges to develop a national network that will bring innovative programs to scale, leading to a highly skilled, inclusive, IT workforce.”

The director of the National Science Foundation’s ATE program V. Celeste Carter talked about the benefits this partnership will bring to the community, saying, “Columbus State and its NITIC partner institutions bring deep experience advancing IT education outcomes within their respective regions, leveraging both NSF and other innovation funding. The launch of NITIC will support industry need for the skilled technical worker in the rapidly changing U.S. IT industry. NITIC will advance and support IT education by engaging the diverse, dynamic network of community colleges across the country.” 

Over the past ten years, Columbus State Community College has received 16 awards from the NSF, including this new NITIC grant. This makes Columbus State the college that has received the most grants from the NSF of any higher education institution in the country. Columbus State is also the Columbus Workforce Hub’s anchor institution which reflects the school’s huge role when it comes to supporting economic mobility and growth in the region. The Columbus Workforce Hub is one of only five that have been designated such on a federal level.

Larry McWherter, who serves as an assistant professor at Columbus State and is a national leader in IT education and was named educator of the year by the High Impact Technology Exchange Conference last year, will lead NITIC in the role of principal investigator for the grant.

He talked about the importance of programs like the NITIC: “Each institution in this partnership brings deep experience and success to advance IT training outcomes in our home regions. Equally important in our world of constant challenge and change, we’re closely aligned with employer partners who help us meet the needs of our current and future workforce. I’m excited to combine our strength toward the common goals of provisioning and strengthening the nation’s IT workforce as a critical asset.” 

McWherter has experience leading other NSF grants with various areas of focus, such as expanding IT career pathways through industry apprenticeships, developing the cybersecurity program at Columbus State, and other associated talent pipeline projects. Through these efforts, Columbus State has been designated as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency, better known as the NSA.

The NITIC grant will run for the next five years, with a potential second five-year term possible pending a renewal process.

The components of the NITIC grant include the promotion of best practices for recruitment to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities, women, and veterans in IT careers; the syndication of training resources for instructors with the goal of addressing both current and future IT competencies; the creation of an Information Technology Innovation Network, which will develop best practices and innovative ideas to advance the education of IT across the country, and which will also serve as an incubator of new up to date curriculum; and the development of a national Business Industry Leadership Team to align future community college curriculum with the needs of employers, scaling up relationships both in the region and around the country.

Columbus State Community College’s Information Systems Technology dean Gloria Rogiers was also quoted about the grant, saying, “This is a big moment. NSF is counting on us to deliver based on our track record of success. I’m confident the NITIC will be a game-changer in meeting the needs of our country’s economic future.” 

More information about Columbus State Community College can be found at the school’s website.