HUD AWARDS $1.7 MILLION TO 3 CALIFORNIA HISPANIC-SERVING COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Anchor institutions create valuable partnerships to serve the surrounding communities

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded nearly $6.5 million
to 11 Hispanic-Serving Institutions to help revitalize local neighborhoods, promote affordable housing and stimulate economic development in their communities. The funding announced today is provided through HUD's Hispanic-
Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) Program.

"These grants help to address the revitalization and economic development needs in the communities that surround our Hispanic-Serving Institutions," said Donovan. "Not only are we investing in communities but, we are helping to facilitate long term partnerships that will assist in addressing some of the most critical social and economic issues
that this country is facing."

"These funds help connect colleges and communities, benefitting both," said Ophelia Basgal, Regional Administrator
for Region IX. "For many student participants, their memory of service in the community will be as important a part
of their education as anything they learn in the classroom, and for the community it will demonstrate that all of us have the right to expect excellence for ourselves and our community."

The following Hispanic-Serving Institutions were awarded funding (see attached/below for a description of these projects):

To be eligible to apply for funding, at least 25 percent of the institution's full-time undergraduate student population must be Hispanic. In addition, all applicants must offer two- or four-year degrees and be fully accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. HUD's grants will help these institutions undertake a wide variety of activities, principally for persons of low- and moderate-income. These activities include:

• Acquiring property;
• Demolishing blighted structures;
• Rehabilitating homes, including cleaning up lead-based paint hazards and making modifications that
  improve accessibility;
• Improving public facilities;
• Offering assistance to small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises; and
• Supporting public services such as job training, child care, fair housing, and housing counseling.

Last year HUD provided $6 million to 10 Hispanic-Serving Institutions. The (HSIAC) 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 local problems. For more
information about HUD's partnership with institutions of higher education, visit HUD's website and OUP's website www.oup.org.

Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) Program Summaries

Fresno City College
Grant Amount: $600,000

Fresno City College intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to provide introductory training on construction techniques and job-readiness skills for Section 3 residents in Fresno, California, at local vacant, blighted houses, which the city will then sell to a qualified low-income family. This will connect low-income, educationally underrepresented individuals to postsecondary education via training and community service.

Yosemite Community College District/Modesto Junior College
Grant Amount: $600,000

Yosemite Community College District/Modesto Junior College intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions
Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to stimulate economic development in the community of Patterson, California, through an innovative project that establishes a Career and Education Resource Center (CERC) to assess, educate, train, and refer local residents to local jobs; and a Sustainability Awareness Campaign that informs community residents of home energy performance measures and publicizes the resources of the Center. Three specific
activities have been developed to accomplish the goal of this project:

• Patterson community residents will access local employment and education resources and services. A Career
  and Education Resource Center will be established at the MJC Patterson Campus site to provide Patterson
  community residents with comprehensive employment and education referral services. Information will be
  available in English and Spanish.

• One hundred eighty individuals will complete training in one or more of the following areas: General
  Equivalency Diploma, English as a Second Language, 21st century employment skills, computer literacy skills, principles of sustainability, photovoltaic system installation, and/or home energy performance. Three hundred fifty Patterson residents will increase knowledge of energy saving principles and actions they can apply in
  their homes.

University Corporation/California State University, Northridge
Grant Amount: $502,042

The University Corporation/California State University (CSU), Northridge intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to address the childhood obesity problem confronting the largely Latino, low-income community of Van Nuys, which is located in Los Angeles, California. The project will implement
a multi-component, comprehensive intervention at three elementary schools in the Van Nuys community. The three components will improve children's physical fitness, promote children's physical activity during recess and lunch, and improve children's healthy eating behavior. To improve children's physical fitness, the university intends to: develop and implement physical education training for teachers; develop and facilitate weekly physical education lesson
plans; conduct daily, physical activity breaks to get students physically active during class time; and develop and implement twice per month walking program for children and their parents. To promote children's physical activity during recess and lunch, CSU intends to: develop and facilitate a workshop to train teachers and staff on ways to encourage and motivate children to become physically active during recess and lunch; design the schools'
playground layout with permanent painted game markings to help facilitate physical activity during recess and lunch; furnish schools with playground equipment necessary to implement games during recess and lunch; and teach and encourage children to play games and remain active during recess and lunch. Finally, to improve children's healthy eating behavior, CSU intends to: promote the value of healthy eating for children and their parents; and implement
a school gardening program.

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