Salt Lake Community College

Salt Lake Community College, a state-controlled institution of higher learning based in Salt Lake City, Utah, acts as a federal grant recipient delivering STEM education, workforce development, student support services, and community nutrition programs to the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Labor. The college operates as a prime grant recipient on the majority of its federal awards (64% of 160 total awards) and as a sub-recipient on the remainder, with no federal contract prime awardee activity or seat on federal contract vehicles.

The college's primary federal footprint centers on education and workforce development grants from the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education (25 awards) and the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education (9 awards), supplemented by pass-through nutrition funding from the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (49 awards, routed through the Utah State Board of Education). Recent prime recipient work includes a $500,000 NSF STEM Education grant (CFDA 47.076) awarded October 15, 2026, to deploy an artificial intelligence literacy framework in gateway chemistry courses across approximately 700 students per semester; a $1.0 million NSF grant effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028, to develop micro-/nanotechnology education pathways in partnership with Utah Valley University as a sub-awardee; a $500,000 NSF grant for an integrated research fellowship program combining field ecology, biotechnology, and data science (October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028); and multiple Department of Education TRIO Student Support Services grants (CFDA 84.042) totaling $272,364 for veteran student support and $394,936 for traditional student support services. The college also holds a $390,000 three-year PACE Scholarship grant from the Department of Education (June 1, 2023, through May 31, 2026) and Department of Veterans Affairs Workforce Veterans Employment and Training Program (WVETP) grants for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

As a sub-recipient, the college receives monthly or quarterly pass-through allocations from the Utah State Board of Education for federal child and adult daycare meals programs and cash-in-lieu funding; a sub-award from Utah State University for a biomanufacturing and bioprocessing partnership program; a sub-award from the University of Utah for the Utah NASA Space Grant Consortium (CFDA not specified); and a sub-award from the Utah Department of Workforce Services for occupational English training for refugees. The college also receives meal-program sub-awards through the Maricopa County Community College District.

Activity has grown sharply in the past two years, from four awards in 2022 to 27 in 2024 and 29 in 2025, with seven awards recorded in 2026 to date. The college serves 24 distinct federal agencies across its prime and sub-award portfolio. Two awards (both appearing to be ongoing nutrition pass-throughs from the Utah State Board of Education) carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months. The college's federal customer concentration reflects its mission as a community college: the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education, and the Army National Guard (which uses the college's facilities for training) account for 70% of awards by count, though the Army's 23 awards and the education programs carry substantially higher nominal dollar values per award than nutrition pass-throughs. The college's combined obligated dollars ($165.5 million) vastly exceed combined potential value ($523,000), indicating that the source captures many completed or mature awards where actual spend has settled above the original estimate.