The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a new round of funding through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students nationwide. The $13.9 million in new funding will benefit roughly 35,000 students nationwide, including students in California, New York, Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia.

The New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education announced that it has awarded nearly $400 million in grant funding to support the infrastructure and technology needs of New Jersey’s higher education sector.

The University of Virginia (UVA) has tapped Kelly Doney as its next chief information officer (CIO). Doney will begin in her new role on August 14. She joins UVA after serving as vice president and chief information officer at Villanova University

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is urging fellow agency commissioners to support a proposal that would take additional steps to enhance cybersecurity protections for K-12 school networks. 

Santiago “Santi” Garces, chief information officer (CIO) for the city of Boston, talked about his organization’s exploration of policy-building around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies during a June 26 event organized by Route Fifty and GCN. 

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has advanced the nomination of Anna Gomez to serve as a commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), sending it to the Senate floor for a final vote.

The City of Seattle’s IT Department has released a Request for Information (RFI) to help the city “validate its business requirements, approach, and priorities” for a new Project Portfolio Management System (PPM) to support the Accounting and Budget Services (ABS) and Capital Development (CD) Divisions in the Finance and Administrative Services Department (FAS).

U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Governor Albert Bryan has signed a Letter of Intent with CRISP Shared Services to participate in a data and interoperability pilot program.

Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, introduced legislation this week that would establish a Digital Economy and Cybersecurity Board of Advisers at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The bill comes as lawmakers are working to reauthorize the NTIA – a Commerce Department component – for the first time since 1992.

Michigan’s Utica Community Schools (UCS) has partnered with Microsoft on the Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) program, which pairs technology professionals with UCS computer science and cybersecurity to support students and teachers.