Bucks County school receives grant for woodworking program

Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pa. has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Windgate Foundation to support the fine woodworking program in the school’s Arts Department. The award for the Windgate Fine Woodworking Legacy Residency will support the program for two years.

“The support of our wood program from the Windgate Foundation allows us to continue offering opportunities for students to pursue the skills of woodworking and furniture design in Bucks County,” says associate professor Chris Todd.

The program offers associate degree and certificate programs for students of all ages that focus on a wide range of techniques such as bending and veneering, table systems, woodturning, chair construction and more. As a result of the grant funding, a new beginner’s course will be added.

“The grant will specifically fund the continuation of a dedicated, full-time faculty member in charge of the wood programs,” says Todd. “In addition to the focused attention on maintaining the shop, seeking job opportunities for students, and attention to keeping up with current trends in the industry, this grant award affords Bucks the opportunity to offer Woodworking Fundamentals courses for students in the college at-large. The entry-level course allows students from any major the chance to gain familiarity with fine woodworking skills and learn to work with their hands.”

In previous years, the program has received other grants from the foundation that have helped outfit the shop and sponsored awards for outstanding student work. The college is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

Based in Little Rock, Ark., the Windgate Foundation is a private grant-making foundation established in 1993.

For more, visit www.bucks.edu and www.windgatefoundation.org. 

This article was originally published in the August 2021 issue.