WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced $7 million in grants to help 18 colleges and universities revitalize distressed, low-income neighborhoods near their campuses and bring new opportunity to people living there. The grant recipients are in: Alaska; Arkansas; Colorado; Florida; Illinois; Iowa; Kentucky; Maryland; Minnesota; New Jersey; North Carolina; Ohio; and Tennessee.

"Colleges and universities can be the gateway to the American Dream for their neighbors as well as their students," Cuomo said. "HUD is working in partnership with colleges and universities to transform impoverished neighborhoods by creating jobs, helping new businesses get started and expanding homeownership."

Cuomo announced the new grants as a national conference on college and university community revitalization efforts gets underway later today in East St. Louis, IL. While in East St. Louis, the conference participants will conduct a series of day-long "urban problem-solving" meetings with area residents and elected officials.

The new grants being announced today will go to:

University of Alaska at Anchorage, Alaska	$359,945
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas	$396,348
University of Colorado at Denver, Colorado	$399,718
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida	$399,043
Florida International University, Miami, Florida	$399,481
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois	$394,618
University of Illinois at Springfield, Illinois	$399,880
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa	$399,889
University of Louisville, Kentucky	$399,957
University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland	$399,900
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota	$399,157
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey	$399,998
Kean University, Edison, New Jersey	$399,129
Fayetteville State University, North Carolina	$254,550
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, North Carolina	$400,000
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina	$399,325
Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio	$399,963
East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee	$399,999

"This initiative will benefit cities, their residents and colleges by reversing decades of neighborhood decline," Cuomo said. "Healthier communities will help universities remain healthy and attractive to students. Faculty and students will gain invaluable experience by using their talents not just to study urban problems, but to solve them."

HUD's Community Outreach Partnership Centers initiative helps colleges and universities to: provide technical assistance to community-based organizations; develop community revitalization training seminars; create public-private partnerships; assist with the resolution of tenant-landlord conflicts; implement community policing; and assist in the development of mixed-income housing. In the process, students and faculty learn from the neighborhoods, and neighborhood residents gain access to the knowledge of the higher education institutions.

Schools were selected based on: the amount of money each expected to contribute or raise from other sources; extent of need; quality of activities described; level of neighborhood and local government participation; and commitment to the program. More than 100 institutions applied for this year's grants.

More information about the Community Outreach Partnership Centers initiative is available at the office's WEB site: www.oup.org or by calling 1-800-245-2691.