FKCC and DOD Appropriation

As the lead agency for a federal appropriation, Florida Keys Community College is expected to share in the better part of a $2.24 million. The appropriation was approved to establish an Instrumented Underwater Training System (IUTS) site for research and practical applications. The effort will advance the Navy's underwater port and maritime security training program.

Bill Chalfant, the college’s director of the James E. Lockwood Jr. School of Diving and Underwater Technology, credit’s college President Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for their hard work on this contract.

Chalfant will be one of those in charge of developing a training program for Navy scuba divers, port security, and other military and civilian personnel charged with security our waterways. The program includes both hardware and software training devices, from three-dimensional underwater imaging, to guidance systems, and simulation scenarios. The college and its partners will also be responsible for developing training procedures and quality controls to facilitate continuous improvement.

This is very big news for FKCC and gives it the opportunity for national visibility and a long term relationship with the Navy. President Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle is thrilled with the award. Upon hearing that the congressional bill had passed, Dr. Landesberg-Boyle said, "A federal appropriation, especially in an amount such as this, will most certainly propel Florida Keys Community College into a whole new level of visibility and services. This project will be transformative for the college and will allow us to provide previous unimaginable educational opportunities for our students." Bill Chalfant sums it up nicely with this quote, “It’s an unprecedented amount for a community college of our size to receive a large defense contract."

The college will share the $2.24 million with Stanford Research Institute, the Department of Defense, and the Navy.