Contacts: Colleen Larimore, Ph.D., 510-528-7229 Louise Chavez, 277-2614 Media Contact: Laurie Mellas-Ramirez, 277-5915

September 9, 2002 NINLHE RECEIVES $75,000 GRANT FROM W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION Mentoring project aims to strengthen Native American higher education A new National Institute for Native Leadership in Higher Education (NINLHE) project is designed to have students gather information about how to improve Native American student support at higher education institutions. The project is funded by a $75,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Mich. NINLHE, formed in 1993, is a non-profit organization headquartered at the University of New Mexico. "Among Native Americans, drop-out rates at each stage of the formal education process are unacceptably high," said Dr. Colleen Larimore, executive director of NINLHE. Native American students who are college juniors, seniors, master's or doctoral-level students with a stated interest in pursuing careers in native higher education are eligible to apply to participate. Participants will be paired with mentor professionals in the field of native higher education. Students will receive funding to complete information-gathering projects with their mentors and present their findings at NINLHE's annual summer institute. They will also have the opportunity to publish a paper on the project's overall findings and to travel to a national education conference with their mentors to explore career and graduate school opportunities. "NINLHE is dedicated to changing higher education in ways that allow native students to achieve their academic goals while strengthening their cultural identities," said Augustine McCaffery, chair of NINLHE's national governing board. "Through our Annual Institute and Training Fellowship Program, we provide the professionals who recruit, teach and counsel native college students with the job skills training vital to their success." McCaffery added, "This new project will enable NINLHE to incorporate student perspectives into our efforts to improve educational access and outcomes for Native people on campuses throughout the country." The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 "to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations." ###

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