Notre Dame de Namur University is the only four-year, private university in Northern California to earn the title of being called a Hispanic Serving Institution. This designation has helped us receive two grants for a combined 6.1 million from the United States Department of Education.

These grants will help by providing Hispanic and low-income students with support in areas such as scholarships, success coaching, academic support and supplemental instruction.

In 2009, NDNU was recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution, to be designated with this title at least 25% of the school’s undergraduate population must be Hispanic.

In 2010, NDNU applied for the grant and after being reconsidered, a year and a half later we have now been rewarded the grant.

“What sets us apart is being able to live our mission by providing access of higher education to underserved populations.” Hernan Bucheli, Vice President of Enrollment Management said of being considered to receive these grants.

The two grants, which will be given over the course of five years, will help bring many changes to this campus and will benefit all of the students.

The first grant of 2.9 million focuses on expanding the (STEM) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic programs. The second grant of 3.2 million which is the largest federal grant in the university’s history is designed to improve students’ retention, academic success and graduation rates.

Even though the grants were designed for Hispanic and low income students, other students will be able to take advantage of the new commodities.

The STEM grant will increase the number of students attaining degrees in the STEM fields at NDNU by providing increased academic support, mentoring, supplemental instruction, and new equipment.

The Improving Student Retention and Academic Success Grant is to help enhance what we already have. This grant will help navigate students with student success coaching, provide more academic support services to academically at-risk students and help make agreements with community colleges to make transferring credits easier.

There will be an increase in scholarship funds, 1 million to be exact, with the help of these grants. The scholarship portion of the grant is to offer assistance to students that need it the most and make sure no student will be left behind because of money being an issue.

Rosella De Alva, a junior said, “I am very excited that our school has received the opportunity to provide more money to students who are Hispanic because, as a Hispanic, I know that it continues to encourage them to go to college and not allow money to be an obstacle from their education and can contribute to the diversity on our campus.”

These grants follow two previous grants received earlier in the year, one is for $100,000 from the Bill Hannon Foundation and the other is the CIC/Wal-Mart College Success Grant for another $100,000. These grants are to help fund the Generation 1 program which provides first-generation students, most of whom are Hispanic, with support services and a foundation for success in college.

These grants are also very important because they will expand and improve the support services of this program and give the opportunity for success to all the current and prospective students of NDNU.

All the grants NDNU has received are important not just as a gateway to more opportunities but also to help honor the main ideals and principles of the Sisters of Notre Dame.

Their mission is to provide educational opportunity to unrepresented and underserved populations who might not have been offered the same opportunity without the extra help.

Ultimately the grant money that NDNU is now receiving will allow for students of all demographics to attend the university, creating a more versatile profile for this already diverse institution of higher education.