The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant of $149,909 to the Community College of Aurora for support of a project titled Community College GIS Faculty Institute. Under the direction of CCA faculty members Dr. Geoff Hunt and Elizabeth Hirsh, the Institute will train CCA faculty across the disciplines in the application of Geographic Information Systems technologies for implementation in the classroom. The award is effective August 1.

GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, can capture, store, and analyze data to be used in numerous applications. According to Hunt and Hirsh, CCA is committed to building awareness and enthusiasm for the study of GIS among faculty. It is anticipated that within the next few years, students can begin a GIS degree or certificate program at the college.

Institute organizers are eager to establish the program to invest in Colorado and attract Colorado students to this new, high-demand occupational field. The Institute gets under way this fall, and faculty will learn to use basic GIS applications and receive support in designing and delivering their own module for use in the classroom in the spring 2010 semester. Faculty also will learn about occupational applications of GIS in the Denver/Aurora Metro region so that they can better inform CCA students of GIS career opportunities.

Introducing a GIS module in CCA classrooms will bolster the college's already strong programs in STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

CCA faculty members in instructional technology, information technology, police academy, criminal justice, biology, geography, geology, literature, history, astronomy, math, and library services will participate in the Institute.