NEWTOWN, Pa. - A Pennsylvania community College has received a $100,000 grant from the Windgate Foundation, an Arkansas-based private grant-making institution.
Bucks County Community College will use the two-year grant to fund its Windgate Fine Woodworking Legacy Residency.
“There is a long tradition of fine woodworking in Bucks County and southeastern Pennsylvania,” says Associate Professor Chriss Todd, who is in her fourth year teaching under the Windgate Legacy Residency. “Windgate’s generous support of our program allows us to continue to offer a high quality woodworking education to those in the area.”
Todd says the program is more vital than ever, as she believes there has been a national decline of interest in the trades among young people.
“It prepares those interested in crafting fine pieces in wood an opportunity to develop their skills and the time to find their own artistic voice,” Todd said.
Based in Little Rock, Ark., the Windgate Foundation is a private grant-making foundation established in 1993. Its principal goals include funding significant educational programs in contemporary craft and visual arts, as well as providing funding to K-12 and higher educational institutions to develop and support the arts, scholarships and effective instructional programs.
Bucks County Community College’s Arts Department offers a 62-credit Associate of Fine Arts in Fine Woodworking, designed for students who plan to transfer to a four-year college; and a 31-credit certificate in Furniture and Cabinetmaking, for students looking to directly launch a career. The college is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
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