Chemeketa Community College District

Chemeketa Community College District, doing business as Chemeketa Community College, is a state-controlled Hispanic-Serving Institution in Salem, Oregon, that receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient for workforce development, STEM education, student support services, and behavioral health training programs. The college operates 78% of its recent federal award footprint as a prime grant recipient and 22% as a sub-recipient on state and local pass-through grants, with no federal contracts. As a public, locally governed two-year institution, Chemeketa competes in full-and-open categories across federal education and workforce development grant programs.

Chemeketa's core federal footprint centers on U.S. Department of Education grants. The Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education funds 30 awards spanning TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) programs at multiple campus locations (Yamhill Valley Campus, Woodburn Location, Brooks), an Upward Bound project serving four high school service areas, a Talent Search project at McKay and North Salem High Schools, a Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, and a Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success initiative funded at $499,969 through the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE, CFDA 84.116) running through December 2027. The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education has awarded 20 grants, including a $1.4 million Pathways to Science Careers consortium in healthcare, aquaculture, and agriculture (CFDA 84.051, Feb 2024 award). The National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education has funded STEM initiatives: a $2 million Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Track 2 grant awarded January 15, 2026, supporting 98 low-income STEM scholars through 2031; a $197,771 equipment and laboratory infrastructure award (Jul 2025) for Woodburn campus biology and chemistry labs serving 600 students annually; and a $199,994 STEM education grant (Oct 2021–Sep 2023) on inclusive collaboration and supportive cohorts. The Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Health Professionals funded a $699,996 four-year behavioral health workforce training program (CFDA 93.732, Sep 2025–Aug 2029) to train paraprofessionals as Qualified Mental Health Associates and Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors, targeting low-income and first-generation Hispanic and multilingual students in Oregon's Mid-Willamette Valley.

Additional prime grants include a $499,540 award from the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (Oct 2024–Sep 2028, CFDA 16.525) to develop culturally specific responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking for Hispanic and LGBTQ2SIA+ students; a $1.4 million institutional-reform grant from the Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (Jan 2024–Dec 2027, "Chemeketa College-Going Access and Regional Equity for Students"); and a $139,994 Department of Education award for an Accessible Pathways for Bilingual Leaders in Education (ABLE) initiative (Sep 2024–Sep 2025). The Department of the Interior's Office of English Language Acquisition funded bilingual teacher-leader development. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Institute of Food Production and Sustainability awarded a planning grant for an incubator farm program (Sep 2021–Aug 2022) providing training and technical assistance to beginning farmers in ethnically diverse communities.

Chemeketa also receives sub-awards flowing through state agencies and other institutions. The Oregon Department of Education has passed through multiple career and technical education sub-grants (CFDA 84.048, Career & Technical Education - Basic Grants to States). The Higher Education Coordinating Commission has awarded sub-grants for adult education and family literacy, state apprenticeship expansion, and equity innovation. Oregon State University has awarded sub-grants for the New Beginnings for Tribal Students in Oregon initiative. The Port of Portland passed through an Economic Development Administration Mass Timber Training sub-award, and Lane Community College awarded a Small Business Development Center sub-grant.

Recent activity is growing: the college received 7 prime and sub-awards in 2022, 9 in 2023, 14 in 2024, and 16 in 2025, with 2 awards recorded in the first four months of 2026. Ten awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. Across all 164 recorded awards (prime and sub, spanning 1996 to April 2026), the college has obligated $121.5 million against a combined potential value of $3.4 million—an indication of substantial multi-year grant renewals and continuation awards. The college operates across 28 distinct federal funding agencies, reflecting its role as an access institution serving workforce development, STEM education, student support, and underserved regional populations in rural and mid-valley Oregon.