Grant to Benefit the Under-Represented
USU Eastern Blanding Campus’s commitment to helping low-income and under-represented students to prepare and successfully enter postsecondary education played heavily into a $74,000 startup grant recently awarded to the campus.
The sub-grant, announced through the Commissioner’s Office of the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE), is being funded through ImPACT, Improving Preparation, Access and Communities Together. It is grant money support designed to strengthen and encourage collaborations between kindergarten through 12th grade schools, communities, colleges and universities. The goal is “to significantly increase the number of low-income and under-represented students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education,” said Melissa Miller Kincart, USHE assistant commissioner in Outreach and Access.
In the award announcement letter, Kincart said USU Eastern Blanding not only demonstrated a strong commitment to low-income and under-represented students, but the college’s proposal was also strengthened by its strategic relationships and partnerships.
Those who applied for the grant were Virgil Caldwell, director of distance education and program development, Heather Young, director of Information Technology and Distance Education and Garth Wilson, assistant vice chancellor, Student Support Services.
The funding notice comes as “great news” to the college, said Guy Denton, vice chancellor and director. “We have Virgil, Garth and Heather to thank for their great work.”
USU Eastern Chancellor Joe Peterson offered his congratulations to the Blanding Campus that received the good news just days before the holiday break. “Christmas came early,” he said.
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Writer: John DeVilbiss