The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE

 


Media Contact: Laurie Mellas, 277-5915

August 16, 2006

UNM receives $5.3 million in Title V grants

The University of New Mexico main campus in Albuquerque has been awarded a five-year, $2.8 million Title V grant to enhance support services for Hispanic students. In addition, UNM Valencia campus received nearly $2.5 million, also over five years. The United States Department of Education awards the grants under the Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) program.

HSIs are non-profit institutions with at least 25 percent Hispanic full-time equivalent enrollment. In fall 2005, roughly 30 percent of UNM's student body was Hispanic.

UNM's main campus project is titled “UNM Title V, Improving Campus Climate for Hispanic Students.” Project funding has been granted to the UNM Regents. The project will be housed in Academic and Students Affairs, and will be overseen by Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Reed Dasenbrock and Vice President for Student Affairs Eliseo “Cheo” Torres.

The goal of the project is to continue to improve retention and graduation rates for Hispanic students. UNM will receive approximately $550,000 per year during the funding cycle. The grant can continue beyond 2011 if the university meets certain requirements and it is so deemed by the U.S. Department of Education.

Title V will support two UNM initiatives:

•  Faculty/Staff Development and Engagement: UNM will expand current faculty development practices to include education sessions focused on student-centered, culturally appropriate instructional methods that will have a positive impact on students.

•  Student Development and Engagement : This component focuses on student development and engagement through activities/initiatives that provide academic tutoring support in the classroom; mentoring, cultural, and social support in and out of the classroom; and a live interface program that will provide students with a tool to navigate academic, social, and cultural support programs available on campus.

“We are very excited to have received a Title V grant from the Department of Education. This grant will help us continue to improve our programs that serve more than 8,000 Hispanic students and will help us move towards our goal of being, and being seen to be, the premier Hispanic-Serving Institution in the United States,” Dasenbrock said.

“This grant is a huge deal for us,” added Vice President Eliseo “Cheo” Torres. “We are already the largest HSI in our Carnegie category, and this solidifies our position further as one of the premier doctorate-granting research institutions in the country serving Hispanic students.”

UNM Valencia's grant will also be disbursed in approximately $500,000 increments ($500,136 for the initial funding cycle). The funds will establish a Developmental Teaching and Learning Center to improve the success rates of low-income Hispanic students.

In addition, the branch plans to raise $120,000 for an endowed scholarship that will earn federal government matched funds at the end of the grant period. This is the second Title V grant UNM Valencia has received; the first in 2001 was used to equip classrooms with state-of-the art audio-visual hardware and Internet access. UNM-Valencia is also currently participating in a cooperative Title V grant with UNM-Los Alamos on a technology-learning center.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's Web site, Title V grants are awarded to “expand educational opportunities for, and to improve the academic attainment of Hispanic students.”

For more information, call Jennifer Gomez-Chavez, College Enrichment Program in the UNM Office of Special Programs, 277-5321.


The University of New Mexico is the state's largest university, serving more than 32,000 students. UNM is home to the state's only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico's only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.

www.unm.edu