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| Wilson Announces $628,000 Hispanic Serving Grant for UNM-Valencia |
September 29, 2004 |
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| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Heather Wilson today announced a $628,329 grant from the Strengthening Hispanic Serving Institutions program for the University of New Mexico-Valencia.
The five-year grant, through the U.S. Department of Education, is to improve graduation rates for students from rural and lower-income populations.
Wilson welcomed the funding. “We need to open the doors of higher education for more minority students so that they are prepared for the jobs of the 21st Century,” Wilson said. “Our fine Hispanic Serving Institutions should be encouraged and supported.”
The program assists Hispanic Serving Institutions in expanding their capacity to serve Hispanic and lower-income students through improving academic quality, institutional management and fiscal stability.
Hispanic Serving Institutions serve concentrations of Hispanic higher education students of 25 percent or more of the student body. Currently there are 250 HSIs, including 18 in New Mexico. Wilson said that important progress has been made in improving HSIs nationwide; including eliminating a 50% low-income requirement that created a barrier for most institutions to prove, and abolishing a two-year waiting period for HSI’s to be eligible for Title V grants.
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