HUD AWARDS GRANT TO UC BERKELEY TO PREPARE LOW-INCOME GRADUATE STUDENTS FOR CAREERS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Grant is Among Nearly $3 Million Awarded Nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez today announced that HUD will award $150,000 to the University of California, Berkeley to help graduate students prepare for careers in community
planning and development.

The grant to UC Berkeley is part of some $3 million in grants HUD announced today to 19 universities around the country to benefit low-income and minority graduate students as they work toward their degrees and gain practical experience in their career field.

The Community Development Work Study Program grants will supplement approximately 95 students' tuition, travel and books during the next two years. .

"Today's students will become tomorrow's greatest resource for revitalizing our nation's communities," said Martinez. "The Bush Administration is committed to creating a new generation of leaders who will work to strengthen our neighborhoods and communities."

Colleges and universities use the grants to offer financial aid and work experience to students enrolled in full-time graduate programs in community development or closely related fields such as urban planning, public policy or public administration.

Schools select the students who will benefit from the work-study funding as well as secure work assignments and monitor student performance.

The Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) in partnership with the Institute of Urban and Regional Development (IURD) at the University of California, Berkeley, will provide financial support to economically disadvantaged and minority students through the Community Development Work Study Program (CDWSP).

Among the nonprofit and community-based organizations that have expressed interest in the CDWSP program, and who have committed to provide future CDWSP placements are: the Alliance for West Oakland Development; Bay
Area Alliance for Sustainable Development; (Bay Area) Transportation and Land Use Coalition; BRIDGE Housing; Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond (CHDC); East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC); East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC); East Bay Habitat for Humanity; Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC); Mission Housing Development Corporation (MHDC); National Economic Development and Law Center (NEDLC); and the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH).

Grants are being awarded to schools in Alabama, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Vermont and Washington.

The awards are made by HUD's Office of University Partnerships, which reaches out to colleges and universities in
a number of ways to help use public resources to engage institutions of higher education in programs of community planning and development.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing minority homeownership, creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans, supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's
fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet.

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