HUD AWARDS GRANT TO FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY TO PREPARE LOW-INCOME GRADUATE STUDENTS FOR CAREERS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Grant is among nearly $2.88 million awarded nationwide

WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today announced that HUD will award $90,000 to the Florida State University to help graduate students prepare for careers in community planning and development.

The grant to Florida State University is part of some $2,880,000 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 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 Jackson. "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.

Grants are also being awarded to schools in Arizona, California, Colorado, Deleware, Iliinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.

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. For more information about the work-study program, go to www.oup.org/about/cdwsp.html.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; 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 as
well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

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