Five local community colleges and one university are receiving a $24 million boost from the Samueli Foundation for workforce development in the area.
“We live in Orange County, and we want to make sure that our students are able to have and envision Orange County as a place where they can raise a family,” Angelica Suarez, president of Orange Coast College, told the Business Journal.
OCC is receiving $5.7 million from the Samuelis, $3 million of which is creating a new STEM regional collaboration among OCC, Fullerton College, Irvine Valley College and California State University, Fullerton. Suarez said that OCC will use the grant to introduce more students to STEM careers through its Allied Health Academy, a dual-enrollment program that gives high school students fast-track preparation for jobs in radiology, dental and emergency medical services.
It’s another major gift from Henry and Susan Samueli, who started their private family foundation in 1999, the year after Broadcom Corp., which was co-founded by Henry, went public. It currently is valued at $1.9 trillion, causing Henry’s worth to soar to more than $40 billion, making him the wealthiest person in Orange County (Nasdaq: AVGO).
The Samuelis have gifted more than $1.2 billion in the past 26 years with an emphasis on STEM education, integrative health and Jewish culture. Over the last three years, they have expanded their focus to include a broader set of issues that affect well-being in Orange County.
This year alone, the foundation granted $130 million, of which 60% stayed in OC.
In 2022, the foundation hired Lindsey Spindle, who has spearheaded an effort to identify funding gaps faced by OC nonprofits. The Samueli Foundation awarded $6.2 million in grants this year through its newly launched Build OC Fund. Eight OC nonprofits received gifts for projects such as new construction, major renovations and land purchases—areas that organizations often struggle to fund. The foundation also gifted $11 million through its Breakaway Fund, which supported 138 nonprofits.
For some of the schools, this is the first time they’re receiving funding from the foundation, which, up until this year, has mainly donated to four-year universities such as UCI, Chapman University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
“That’s a super exciting new area for us,” Spindle says. “We’re supporting all sorts of efforts focused on trying to get more and more young Orange County aspiring professionals into well-paying jobs that allow them to stay here.”
$8.2M for Workforce Development
Part of the $24 million includes a multi-year investment of $8.2 million over three years to Golden West College, OCC and Saddleback College to expand workforce development programs in high-demand sectors.
It was first announced in March when the foundation released a first-of-its-kind needs assessment report intended to help donors see where their money could make the most impact.
The report found that roughly 17,000 well-paying jobs went unfulfilled in the county last year, defined as middle-skill jobs that often require certification but not a four-year degree.
“Each college offers career technical education programs that provide students with certifications or credentials to secure positions in the various fields that serve as a lifeline for our county,” Spindle said.
Golden West is receiving a total of $3.5 million to expand personnel for its nursing program, an industry that has faced staffing shortages both nationally and regionally since COVID-19.
The Huntington Beach school received approval from the California Board of Registered Nursing in February to increase nursing enrollment.
“We really have a need for more faculty in order to make this happen,” Golden West President Meridith Randall told the Business Journal.
This fall, Golden West hired three full-time faculty as a direct result of the funding with plans to hire a coordinator that works with local hospitals to secure on-site training.
“We rely on hospitals for students to see a variety of cases,” Randall said.
Golden West aims to nearly double nursing enrollment from 80 to 150 students per semester by 2027.
STEM Regional Collaboration
The other part of the $24 million is establishing a three-year, $4 million regional collaboration between Fullerton College, IVC, OCC and CSUF with each school receiving $3 million to help improve graduation rates among students pursuing STEM degrees.
“Investing in STEM and broader educational attainment has always been a focus of the Samueli Foundation, given that math and engineering are at the heart of our founders’ personal stories of success,” Spindle said.
Bachelor’s degrees in STEM-related fields awarded by Orange County colleges and universities declined by 5% from 2022 to 2023, according to the latest Orange County Business Council report. The largest decline occurred in computer and information degrees, which fell by 20%.
“This is a very rigorous area academically, so having that kind of support will provide the necessary path to success,” Cal State Fullerton President Ronald Rochon told the Business Journal.
The collaboration intends to leverage shared resources and expertise between the schools, as well as fund their individual transfer initiatives.
Cal State Fullerton is using its $3 million from the Samuelis to hire two dedicated STEM transfer advisors for its College of Engineering and Computer Science and College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
“We’re going to also create sustainable systems of support to make sure that these students who are transferring from two year institutions from our partners will not only graduate but also be very successful,” Rochon said.
Separate from the Samueli’s gift, the school in June broke ground on a 42,000-square-foot engineering and computer science innovation hub, which is expected to open by fall 2027.
Nearly 80% of the 300,000-plus alumni from CSUF, dubbed the workforce engine of OC, go on to live within a 50-mile radius of the school.
“They stay here. They plant their roots here. They grow their families here. They pay their taxes here,” Rochon said. “So, finding ways in which we can invest more in this amazing anchor of talent that does so much for this state is essential moving forward.”
Last fall, the school logged a record enrollment of 43,662, a 4% increase from the previous year.
The Recipients
The Samueli Foundation is giving more than $24 million to six Orange County colleges with $21.2 million going directly to schools and another $4 million earmarked for a new STEM regional collaboration.
Here’s a partial breakdown:
– Golden West College ($3.5M): Funds will help expand nursing program by allowing the school to hire more full-time faculty.
– Orange Coast College ($5.7M): Funding will be split between expanding the school’s dual-enrollment career academies for high school students and bolstering its STEM counseling and offerings.
– Saddleback College ($3M): Saddleback will expand its work-based experiential learning program that pairs students with paid internships to get hands-on experience. Employers who participate are reimbursed for 50% of the students’ wages.
– Fullerton College ($3M): Funding will help sustain and expand staffing for the school’s STEM Center, including the onboarding of a full-time program coordinator and trained peer mentors. It will also support career preparation workshops, peer-led tutoring, STEM-specific academic advising and upgrade lab and tutoring equipment.
– Irvine Valley College ($3M): IVC will launch a Natural Sciences Center, which will provide tutoring and expand availability of paid research stipends to students. The funding will also allow the school to create research programs with partners institutions including CSUF, University of California, Irvine and Chapman University, as well as launch a STEM scholars fund that will award $5,000 in scholarships to 20 students annually.
– California State University, Fullerton ($3M): Investment to fund existing and new transfer initiatives, including two full-time STEM transfer advisors, summer bridge program and undergraduate research experience.
