$3M award from the U.S. Department of Commerce brings digital access to Southern Arizona neighborhoods
$3 million has been granted by the U.S. Department of Commerce to enhance digital access in neighborhoods in Southern Arizona
Bryan Carter, Director of the Center for Digital Humanities, has been working on Project CAN (Connect Arizona Now: Digital Inclusion for Underserved Students and Communities of Southern Arizona) for the past two years. The $3 million project is part of a pilot program offered to Minority Serving Institutions by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The initiative, which was made possible by a U.S. Department of Commerce pilot program, has broadened ideas about what can be achieved with HSI-related funding and has the potential to help communities in Southern Arizona. Carter highlights that technological advancements pose a serious threat to local, state, and national goals, and that broadband is a fundamental utility.
During the two-year grant period, Carter and a group of eighteen developers from various colleges worked with three nearby U of A micro campuses in Yuma, Douglas, and Thatcher, as well as five communities: Dunbar and Pascua Yaqui. The project allowed the community center at Dunbar Pavilion to install a computer lab with VR headsets, a volumetric capture stage, a 3D printer, and an industrial printer in addition to upgrading its broadband.
With more people attending community events, learning skills for seniors, and participating in financial literacy programs, the effort has been well worth it. Funding is currently needed to continue a number of pilot projects at neighborhood churches and community centers.
Read more or listen to this news on the UA News website here.
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