CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bank of America selected 21 community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities, including Central Piedmont Community College, to give $1 million over the course of the next four years.
"We were lucky enough to win the day and get an investment to Central Piedmont," Bank of America market president for Charlotte Charles Bowman told WCNC Charlotte.
Bowman said the money and collaboration are all part of a program to connect students of color to jobs.
"Not only is this a great thing for Central Piedmont, which is a huge resource here for us, but it’s also a win for the students who are going to come through the program and a win for employers who will get job-ready people," Bowman added.
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Bowman believes many best practices will be shared nationwide between the selected schools in order to narrow gaps recognized at CPCC.
Central Piedmont president Dr. Kandi Deitemeyer said equity is one of the school's strategic goals.
"When we examined our student data, we recognized that in three years, our African-American students were only completing at just around 19%," Dr. Deitemeyer said. "Our Latin students were only at 13%. Yet those students deserve equal access to opportunity and this grant and investment were calling a bridge to careers project."
This investment from BoA will help CPCC utilize specific resources for these students to stay in school, better highlight career paths and create the foundation needed to have a successful, long-term career.
According to Central Piedmont, the road map for how these initiatives will roll out is already underway, and students will begin to see those changes in 2021.
The bank told WCNC Charlotte they are very proud to call Charlotte home and hope their efforts to create permanent change will encourage other companies, businesses and people to do the same.
"We know that philanthropy alone won’t solve those issues," Bowman said. "We need a lot of people to join in this effort to make Charlotte stronger, better, more vibrant than it was before."