Duke Energy Aims To Increase Graduation Rates in Greater Cincinnati With $100,000 Foundation Grant to Moon Shot for Equity
- Program will provide services for underserved students experiencing significant challenges to degree completion
CINCINNATI, March 9, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Duke Energy announced a $100,000 Foundation grant to support regional advancement of the Moon Shot for Equity initiative. This collaborative effort with local higher education institutions is designed to graduate more Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky students from college. The program will provide assistance to underserved students experiencing significant challenges to degree completion.
“Duke Energy is proud to invest in the success of our local students,” said Amy Spiller, president of Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky. “It is critically important to acknowledge equity gaps in higher education and take action to reduce those gaps. By supporting today’s students, we are ensuring a vibrant economy for the future.”
Four local higher education institutions are participating: Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Gateway Community & Technical College, Miami University Regionals and Northern Kentucky University. The Duke Energy Foundation grant will provide direct assistance to each university as well as support to help with the creation of the online resources portal.
“We are grateful not only for Duke Energy Foundation’s generous support, but also for their inherent leadership to support the regional Moon Shot for Equity program,” said Dr. Ande R. Durojaiye, vice president and dean, Miami University Regionals, College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science. “With this support, we can ensure degree completion for some of our region’s at-risk and underserved community, and accelerate meeting the workforce development needs in the Greater Cincinnati area.”
The Moon Shot initiative focuses on four key strategies:
- Enhancing access to need-based financial aid.
- Streamlining transfer pathways by ensuring transferability of college credits between institutions.
- Coordinating between key university offices and services, from financial aid and career advising to student health and counseling, to promote a holistic care model fostering student success.
- Eliminating and revising registration holds that are unnecessary and burdensome to students.
For more information on the Moon Shot for Equity program, visit the program website.
Duke Energy Foundation
The Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The Foundation contributes more than $30 million annually in charitable gifts and is funded by Duke Energy shareholder dollars. More information about the Foundation can be found at duke-energy.com/foundation.
Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky
Duke Energy Ohio/Kentucky, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, provides electric service to 880,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in a 3,000-square-mile service area, and natural gas service to 550,000 customers in a 2,650-square-mile service area, in Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people.
Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2022 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
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