HUD AWARDS TWO UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS CAMPUSES $1.6 MILLION TO ENHANCE SERVICES IN ISOLATED VILLAGES EXPAND CAPACITY TO BUILD HOUSING SUSTAINABLE IN ARCTIC CLIMATE

ANCHORAGE - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and HUD's Northwest Regional Administrator Mary E. McBride today awarded a total of $1,585,714 to the Chukchi and Bristol Bay campuses of the University of Alaska Fairbanks to enhance services to isolated, rural villages and to increase the capacity to build housing sustainable in Alaska's climates. The funding announced today is provided through HUD's Alaska
Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities (AN/NHIAC) Program.

"These colleges and universities can be powerful drivers to promote community and economic revitalization," said Donovan. "The funding we announce today will improve communities and expand affordable housing beyond these campuses and into the communities served by these institutions of higher learning."

"These grants are a perfect blend of creativity and flexibility" said Regional Administrator McBride, "and demonstrate, again, how Alaska's communities and universities are adapting HUD's programs to implement locally-developed responses to locally-identified needs."

The University of Alaska, Fairbanks-Chukchi Campus intends to use its $787,191 grant to revise existing construction trades program to reflect the needs of the local housing authorities and the research of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) into high efficiency, alternative energy use housing for Arctic communities. In partnership with the Alaska Technical Center and the Northwest Inupiat Housing Authority, UA-Chukchi will train an underserved workforce in carpentry with a specific emphasis on energy solutions for the Arctic. Students completing this training program will be certified in cold climate construction and, next summer, students will assist CCHRC in building an energy-efficient home in the village of Buckland.

The University of Alaska, Fairbanks-Bristol Bay Campus will use its $798,523 grant to in its "Healthier Sustainable Communities in Bristol Bay" project, that serves geographically isolated rural villages. It will enhance the quality of
in-region job training and employment assistance and to increase services to local employers, employees and future employees. Activities will concentrate primarily in three areas -- education outreach for special populations, including unemployed adults and youth and those needing basic education and family literacy skills; job training/career exploration; and job creation through small business development.

For an institution to qualify under this program as an Alaska Native Institution, at least 20 percent of the undergraduate student enrollment must be Alaska Native. At least 10 percent of a school's undergraduate population must be Native Hawaiian to qualify as a Native Hawaiian Institution. In addition, all institutions must be a two- or four-year institution and fully accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

HUD's grants are not intended to directly benefit these colleges and universities but will help these institutions undertake a wide variety of activities, particularly those that benefit low-income persons. These activities may include:

• Acquiring property;


• Demolishing blighted structures;


• Rehabilitating homes, including cleaning up lead-based paint hazards and making modifications that improve
  accessibility;


• Improving public facilities such as water and sewer systems;


• Providing downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- and moderate-income homebuyers;


• Offering assistance to small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises;


• Assisting community-based development organizations to carry out neighborhood revitalization; and


• Supporting public services such as job training, child care, fair housing, and housing counseling.

The Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities Program is one of several initiatives
administered by HUD's Office of University Partnerships (OUP). Established in 1994, OUP is a catalyst for partnering colleges and universities with their communities in an effort to address pressing local problems. For more information about HUD's partnership with institutions of higher education, visit HUD's website.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.