ADP grant will assist colleges with science, math instructors

A $600,000 investment in Augusta’s three largest colleges will enable them to better meet one of their biggest educational challenges — the production of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates and teachers.

This afternoon, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. announced the three-year grant through a partnership with Augusta State University, Augusta Technical College and Paine College. Most of the money will go to fund more than 90 college scholarships.

At Augusta State, the ADP grant will fund at least 30 new scholarships — 10 each year for three years — and increase the staffing and hours of math and science labs.

In December, the university established four goals, including increasing its number of graduates in math, science and math and science education to 15 percent of its total graduates.

For the grant’s three-year period, Augusta Tech plans to award a minimum of 26 scholarships to students in the Information Technology division and 15 industry certification scholarships. The grant will also provide professional development for faculty.

Paine will also be using the ADP funding for student scholarships. At the end of the grant, the college hopes to have graduated 20 students in math and the sciences. The funding will also be used to expand academic support programs for these academic areas.

Local efforts to bolster the production of math and science teachers are part of a larger effort.

In January, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced a proposal to pay math and science teachers a higher starting salary in hopes of attracting more people to these positions.