The grant came from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Job Growth Grant Fund, a program with the goal of helping meet local healthcare demands through workforce training.
“This funding allows us to make sure doctors and dentists can rely on the fact that we’re going to be producing the amount of talent they’re going to need to provide the services that they have to offer,” Tallahassee Community College President Jim Murdaugh, PhD, said during a news conference.
Calandra Stringer, PhD, the college’s provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, told the Tallahassee Democrat that some of the funding will go toward purchasing equipment, hiring instructors and admitting students twice a year, starting in fall 2023.
The college’s dental hygiene program currently has 24 students, with 50 to 60 candidates on the waitlist, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.