Hudson County Community College’s 25th Gala Celebration Sets Attendance and Fundraising Records

Donors who established and contributed to endowments with gifts ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 include Ellucian Foundation; MAST Construction Services, Inc.; former HCCC Foundation Board Chair, Jim Egan, and his wife, Kathy Egan; ASPIRE Technology Partners; Scarinci Hollenbeck, Attorneys at Law; HCCC Foundation Chair Monica McCormack-Casey, her family and friends; Roy Groething; Dr. Reber; and an anonymous donor who endowed the Paul Dillon Scholarship Fund.

Many other organizations, corporations, and individuals made gifts of $10,000 and above, including Fidelity Investments; NK Architects; Eastern Millwork, Inc.; FLIK Hospitality Group; and Jersey City Road Runners.

The HCCC Foundation’s 2022 Distinguished Community Service Award was presented to the Ellucian Foundation in recognition of their commitment to investing in student success. Ellucian is one of the largest technology support organizations in the world. “The Ellucian Foundation shares our core belief that education is transformational,” Dr. Reber said. Laura Ipsen, Ellucian Chief Executive Officer and President, accepted the award. She said, “Hudson County Community College is one of the best examples in the nation of a community college that is transformational and a role model for so many others.”

The Ellucian Foundation’s Progress, Accomplishment, Thriving, and Hope (PATH) Scholarship Program has provided 65 colleges and universities with more than $1 million in grants for scholarships to over 1,100 students. HCCC received a $25,000 PATH award for students’ tuition and living expenses. Additionally, the Ellucian Foundation made a $50,000 endowment investment in the HCCC “Hudson Scholars” program that will amplify the College’s capacity building efforts and help scale the program to all students in perpetuity.

The national award-winning “Hudson Scholars” program focuses on retention and improving student outcomes by scaling successful elements of acclaimed, best-practice models. “Hudson Scholars” offers one-on-one, high-impact mentoring and support, personal and academic advisement, early academic intervention, rich and meaningful programming, and financial stipends tied to academic milestone attainment. Started in Fall 2021 with initial funding through Federal stimulus dollars, the program now serves over 1,700 students who are continuing and completing their studies at three times the rate of all students. The nationally distinctive “Hudson Scholars” program model will eventually be scaled to support all HCCC students.

“Hudson Scholars” has been recognized with the 2021-22 Innovation of the Year Award by The League for Innovation in Community Colleges and is one of just ten programs in the United States invited to compete as a finalist for the 2023 National Bellwether Awards in Austin, TX next February.

Established in 1997, the Hudson County Community College Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation providing tax-exempt status to contributors. The HCCC Foundation supports the College and its students by building awareness and developing financial resources. The Foundation provides scholarships, seed money for new and innovative programs, stipends for faculty development, capital to assist in the College’s physical expansion, and resources to address students’ basic needs beyond the classroom.

Information about the HCCC Foundation and ways to donate may be found at https://www.hccc.edu/community/foundation/index.html.