August 8, 2008
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Foundation receives two grants to help students prepare for and succeed in college
Contact: Melinda Voss, (651) 296-9443, melinda.voss@so.mnscu.eduThe Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Foundation has been awarded two grants totaling $425,000 for initiatives to help high school and college students prepare for and succeed in college.
The Blandin Foundation in Grand Rapids awarded the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system’s foundation $225,000 for the northern Minnesota College Readiness Partnership pilot project. The Otto Bremer Foundation gave the system foundation $200,000 to support the Higher Education Anti-Racism Team initiative.
“We’re proud that these two important foundations are supporting such exciting and innovative programs,” said Chancellor James H. McCormick. “Both of the initiatives fit well with the Board of Trustees strategic plan, which calls for increasing access and opportunity to higher education in the state.
“We must make sure more students of color, low-income students and first-generation college students – all groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education – complete some kind of post-secondary training to ensure their well-being and the state’s competitive edge,” McCormick said.
Foundation President Robert Erickson said, “These projects hold great promise. I’m grateful that the funders recognized the need and potential for the initiatives to make a difference in our communities.”
The initiative funded by the Blandin Foundation will use new and culturally relevant ways of teaching math to about 400 10th- through 12th-grade students. The project will begin this fall and will involve students at Northwest Technical College in Bemidji, Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks, Bemidji State University, Leech Lake Tribal College, Red Lake Tribal College and White Earth Tribal College. Participating high schools include Mahnomen, Cass Lake, Red Lake, Thief River Falls and Bemidji.
The Bremer grant will support the Higher Education Anti-Racism Team initiative at Minnesota State University Moorhead, St. Cloud State University, North Dakota State University, Bethel University, the Minnesota Collaborative Anti-Racism Initiative and the Office of the Chancellor in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. The initiative encourages participating institutions and communities to strengthen policies and practices that respect and include all racial, ethnic and social groups.
Minnesota's 31 state community and technical colleges, and universities serve more than 420,000 students across the state.
