The University will receive $1.71 million from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund to help improve Hispanic graduation rates, the group's president announced Tuesday.
The money is part of $12.3 million that HSF received from Lilly Endowment Inc., a private charity group based in Indiana. HSF will use the money to pilot a program at UT-Austin and the University of Georgia that will help identify the most effective methods of recruiting, retaining and graduating Hispanic students, said HSF spokeswoman Anna Briseno.
Mary Gonzales, co-director of operations in the Latino Leadership Council and a history and Mexican American studies senior, said the effort to encourage higher graduation rates is important for the Latino community.
"Latinos have one of the highest rates of entrance but lowest rates of college completion," she said. "I know one of the main reasons of low college attainment is financial, so I think it will help."
HSF President and CEO Sara Martinez Tucker, who also gave last year's commencement speech at UT, said the grant will further HSF in its goal to double the rate of Hispanic students earning college degrees.
The University and UGA should be creating an outline of how the scholarships will be awarded, said Gretchen Wolfram, spokeswoman for Lilly Endowment.
The money allocated to the University will be used in a variety of areas, including personnel, a planning conference, campus activities and scholarships, Tucker said. The HSF, which sets up offices in major cities across the country, will work with the University and UGA to research and improve recruitment policies for the next five years.
"HSF sets up offices in various major cities across the nation to help Hispanic students achieve education attainment," Wolfram said. "They do this through a lot of one-on-one contact and out-reach efforts."
A kick-off meeting is expected to take place soon to discuss the specifics of the project. Tucker said the present year will be a planning year, while scholarships are expected to be given out by next spring.
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