Press Release
Release Date: September 19, 2007
Contacts: Kerry Lyste, EvCC Geography/GIS Instructor, 425-388-9381; klyste@everettcc.edu
EvCC Geography Instructor Gets National Science Foundation Training Grant
EVERETT, WA – Everett Community College geography instructor Kerry Lyste has received a two-year training grant from the National Science Foundation to enhance the college’s geographic information system (GIS) program.
EvCC was one of 20 colleges nationwide chosen to participate in the Integrated Geospatial Education and Technology Training (iGETT) grant. The goal is to help community and technical colleges meet the workforce demands for geospatial technology skills.
The GIS/mapping industry is one of the fastest growing parts of the computer industry. EvCC’s 45-credit GIS certificate program teaches students to use a computer-based system for managing, analyzing, and displaying geographic data.
The technology is widely used throughout science, government, business, and industry, with applications including real estate, public health, crime mapping, national defense, sustainable development, natural resources, landscape architecture, archaeology, regional and community planning, transportation and logistics.
The iGETT grant pays for software, two summer institutes for Lyste, plus ongoing technical and educational support. The first year will focus on geospatial training and on course and program development, the second on implementation.
The project is the result of a multi-year collaboration by the National Council for Geographic Education; Del Mar College; Environmental Systems Research Institute; Science Systems and Applications, Inc. at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; and the U.S. Geological Survey Land Remote Sensing Program.
For more information about Everett Community College’s GIS program, visit www.everettcc.edu, or call Kerry Lyste at 425-388-9381. Fall quarter classes begin Sept. 24.
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