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HUD No. 07-041 Patricia Campbell (817) 978-5974 |
For Release Wednesday August 15, 2007 |
HUD AWARDS $600,000 TO THE INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN INDIAN ARTS IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
FORT WORTH - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced a $600,000 grant to the Institute of American Indian Arts. It was part of $3 million awarded to five Tribal Colleges and Universities nationally under the Department's Tribal Colleges and Universities Program.
"Tribal colleges and universities grants provide the necessary resources needed to enhance the academic
programs," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "These grants ultimately serve a vital role in their communities
often in remote regions where few other services are available."
Tribal colleges and universities (TCU) use the funding to expand, renovate and equip their own facilities. TCUs are important partners in many communities, providing a means to address pressing social, educational, and economic needs. Many of these institutions serve remote regions and a growing number of local residents have come to
depend heavily on TCU-sponsored education, counseling, health, and economic development initiatives. These
grants encourage their efforts to make a difference in their communities.
Since 2001, HUD has awarded more than $20 million to TCUs to build new and/or improve their existing campus facilities.
The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) intends to use its Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) grant to renovate the campus' existing 20,800-square-foot dormitory facility into the "family casitas" of IAIA's new
Student Residence Center. The family casitas will be on-campus family-style two-bedroom apartments specifically reserved as low-income housing for students who are married or single parents. The new facilities will be able to house 26 to 52 students in apartment style casitas all with accessible design and energy-efficient "green" features. The main objective in renovating the current student dormitories is to allow IAIA to recruit and retain a greater number and diversity of students. Expanded on-campus housing, and the addition of family-style apartments for married or single-parent students, will strengthen the institute's ability to serve its target communities, allowing
IAIA to fulfill its goal of providing quality arts and cultural higher education for Native American students.
The TCUPS 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 a shared search for answers to pressing urban problems. More information about OUP and its programs is available on the Internet.
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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