LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Simmons College of Kentucky announced Tuesday it will become a community center for Coding and Creativity, part of Apple's Community Education Initiative and Tennessee State University's HBCU C2.
The partnership is a teaching and learning initiative, designed to empower Historically Black Colleges and Universities to expand technology and creativity experiences within their institutions and broader communities.
That's exciting news for Simmons, students and the coding community. Administrators said the partnership will create a pathway for more people to enter the digital workforce.
"It allows us an opportunity to serve as a hub for the community, to teach coding, creativity and also other creative opportunities through music with this partnership," said Javan Reed, vice provost at Simmons.
The program will be housed at Simmons, but it is not just for students.
"Apple's initiative says that everyone can code, and everyone can create," Reed said. "And so we are just serving as a hub to widen that experience."
The partnership is part of Apple's Racial Equity and Justice initiative. After launching the $100 million initiative last year, Apple announced $30 million in new commitments on Tuesday.
“The call to build a more just and equitable world is an urgent one, and at Apple, we feel a collective responsibility to help drive progress forward,” Apple CEO Tim Cook. “The commitments we’re sharing will help the young leaders of today and tomorrow start new businesses, develop groundbreaking innovations, and inspire countless others to join the fight for justice. We’re grateful to all of the trailblazing organizations we’re partnering with for their tireless dedication to equity as we work toward a better future together.”
Brian Luerman, sector strategy coordinator for IT at KentuckianaWorks, is the program director for Code Louisville and said the timing of the partnership is good, because the coding job market is exploding.
"Software development — or coding — is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, in the world and locally right now," he said. "Since 2015, we've had about a 45-50% growth in jobs in the greater Louisville area."
To find out more about Simmons College and enrollment, click here.
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