in this issue

ESTRELLA MOUNTAIN RECEIVES U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GRANT

U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, recently announced the names of 45 Hispanic serving colleges and universities to receive grants from the U.S. Department of Education. Estrella Mountain Community College, a designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), was one of only two Arizona institutions chosen, with an award totaling more than $400,000.

HSIs are colleges or universities in which Hispanic Americans represent at least 25 percent of the student population, of whom at least half are low-income. The grant, authorized by Title V of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, will provide Estrella Mountain the opportunity to expand services to Hispanic American and low-income students. As a result, improvements will be made to academic programs, student services and facilities. The grant also states that funds may be used to implement community outreach programs with local and secondary schools, special programs to improve students' academic success and for faculty development and purchasing books and telecommunications material.

Being selected as a grant recipient, reaffirms Estrella Mountain's commitment to servicing under-represented and low-income students. Just last fall, the college received a National Science Foundation grant to assist in developing interventions and programs designed to improve the success and retention of Hispanic students in science, mathematics and technical fields. A summer bridge program is currently in session to help ease Hispanic students through the transition from high school to college.