Patrick Henry Community College is happy to announce that Eastman Chemical Company has been selected to receive the 2017 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy. In 2006, this award was created in order to recognize leaders throughout the state who have contributed to the success of Community College Foundations.
“The partnership between Eastman Chemical and Patrick Henry Community College continues to be THE model of success across the Commonwealth and the entire nation,” said Dr. Greg Hodges, PHCC Vice-President for Institutional Advancement, Effectiveness, and Campus Life. “We are extremely grateful to Eastman for their continued dedication to our college and community, and we are thrilled to recognize them for their many contributions to PHCC.”
Eastman Chemical has only been located in the Martinsville/Henry County area for four and a half years but has proven to be an integral part of the community and partnership that it has created with PHCC. Eastman Chemical Company established the Advanced Film Manufacturing Career Studies Certificate in 2014 as a collaboration between Patrick Henry Community College and Eastman to meet workforce needs for their local facilities. Making an initial investment of $25,000, Eastman Chemical provided scholarship funds to cover tuition and textbook costs for those students enrolled who had a financial need gap after utilizing all other sources of aid. The program spans three academic semesters and concludes with a paid internship in the facility. In the scholarship programs’ third year, forty-six students have been funded under the Eastman Chemical Advanced Film Manufacturing Scholarship fund, which has produced thirty graduates to date. Graduates of the certificate program are guaranteed a job interview and there is a 92% job placement/employment rate.
This highly successful collaboration is a win-win for PHCC and Eastman Chemical, providing a skilled workforce with highly sought after industry credentials to meet staffing needs at their manufacturing facilities in nearby Fieldale and Martinsville Virginia. PHCC looks forward to continuing a successful and prosperous partnership.
