HUD AWARDS $6.3 MILLION TO TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Montana Receives $2.4 Million

HELENA - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $6.3 million to eight Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) to help build, renovate, expand and equip their own facilities, and to expand the role of TCUs into the community through the provision of needed services such as health programs, job training, and economomic development activities. The funding announced today is provided through HUD's Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP).

"These institutions of higher learning are investing in building minds as well as their local communities," said
Donovan. "HUD is working with these colleges and universities to help enhance their learning environments as they devote themselves to shaping the next generation of leaders who will benefit from and build on what we do today."

The following Tribal colleges and universities were awarded funding in Montana:

The funding will be used for the following:

Salish Kootenai College - $800,000: Salish Kootenai College (SKC) intends to use its Tribal Colleges and
Universities Program (TCUP) grant to construct a teacher education building. In only 4 years, SKC teacher
education has grown from one- to-three bachelor's degrees, four- to-nine faculty positions, and 52 to 246 students. By 2012, the college anticipates hiring two additional faculty members to meet the projected enrollment of 300 students. The project will serve the 7,739 low- and moderate-income Native American community members of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Stone Child College - $800,000: Stone Child College (SCC) intends to use its Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) grant to implement its Capacity Enhancement and Rehabilitation project. This project will benefit primarily low- and very-low-income American Indian students, families, and children on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation through the construction or rehabilitation of several facilities. These efforts will address the current and pressing need to offer culturally appropriate, socially relevant, high-quality education and services to the Chippewa Cree Tribal members, including their children, on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation.

Fort Peck Community College - $800,000: Fort Peck Community College (FPCC) intends to use its Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) grant to construct a combined library, information technology, and community learning center. Expansion and construction of this campus facility has been a goal in FPCC's long-range plan, as
the current library, learning center, and computer labs at FPCC's main campus in Poplar, Montana, are too small for the increasing usage by the 500 FPCC students, primary and secondary school students, and community members. The facility will address the absence of adequate educational research and technological communication
opportunities found in isolated, low-income communities. This facility will enhance student, faculty, staff, and the reservation community's access to both educational and community service opportunities by providing library
services, information technology access, Tribal archival documents, and learning space.

To be eligible to apply for funding, TCUs must meet the definition of a TCU established in Title III of the 1998 Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965. In addition, all applicants must offer two- or four-year degrees
and be fully accredited, or be a candidate for accreditation, 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. These activities include, but are not limited, to the following:

• Building a new facility (for example, classrooms, administrative offices, health and cultural centers,
  gymnasium, technology centers, and so forth).
• Renovating an existing or acquired facility.
• Expanding an existing or acquired facility.
• Equipping university facilities (laboratory equipment, library books, and furniture).
• Property acquisition.
• Health screening.
• Technical assistance to establish, expand, or stabilize microenterprises.
• Crime, alcohol and/or drug-abuse prevention activities.
• Youth leadership development programs/activities.
• Tutoring/mentoring programs.
• Childcare/development programs.
• Cultural activities/programs.
• Up to 20 percent of the grant may be used for payments of reasonable grant administrative costs related
  to planning and executing the project.

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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.