Latest news with #TRiO
Time of India
08-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
While Harvard and Columbia lose millions in federal cuts, this California university pockets $2 million from Trump: Here's why
: Across the United States, colleges and universities are grappling with a deepening funding crisis. Shrinking federal and state budgets, rising operational costs, and the expiration of pandemic-era relief funds have left many institutions slashing programs, cutting staff, and tightening financial aid. Elite institutions like Harvard face potential losses nearing $1 billion annually due to cuts in research grants and new taxes on endowments. Columbia has also lost $400 million in federal funding, leading to major reductions in staff and halts in research projects. For low-income and first-generation students, these cutbacks threaten to close doors that were only recently opened. Amid this wave of reductions in America's education sector, one California university has secured a rare and crucial victory for those breaking new ground in their families. For many students in Stockton, stepping onto a university campus is not merely about earning a degree; it is about rewriting family history. In homes where no one has completed higher education, a diploma can feel as distant as the moon. The University of the Pacific (UOP) has now been awarded nearly $2 million in renewed federal funding, ensuring that first-generation learners don't just enter higher education, but they have the resources to cross the finish line. University of the Pacific: A legacy rooted in firsts Founded in 1851 as California Wesleyan College, Pacific holds the distinction of being California's first university. Over its history, it has pioneered numerous milestones, including the state's first independent co-educational campus, the first conservatory of music on the West Coast, and the first medical school in the region. Originally based in Santa Clara before moving to San Jose in 1871 and finally settling in Stockton in 1923, Pacific now stands as the first private four-year university in California's Central Valley. Today, the university's reach extends beyond Stockton, with graduate campuses in San Francisco and Sacramento, and a portfolio of schools ranging from business and engineering to dentistry, law, and health sciences. It also houses the treasured archives of environmentalist John Muir, preserving his papers in the Holt-Atherton Special Collections and inspiring new generations through its John Muir Center and dedicated museum-style exhibits. Against this backdrop of history and innovation, Pacific's latest funding renewal underscores its enduring commitment to opening doors for those who have historically been excluded from higher education. TRiO: The programme that changes the odds At the heart of this development is Success TRiO, a federally funded initiative that has long served as a safety net for students from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds. The $1.7 million grant, distributed over the next five years, will support 200 students annually with academic guidance, financial literacy training, mentoring, and emotional support, the very tools that can make or break a first-generation student's college journey. Until recently, the programme's future was uncertain. With federal education budgets under strain, TRiO staff had braced themselves for the possibility of losing the funding that sustains their work. The grant renewal is not just a budget line; it is a lifeline. Why first-generation students need more than just tuition First-generation learners face a unique set of pressures, working part-time to support their households, navigating unfamiliar academic systems, and often carrying the expectations of an entire family. While tuition assistance is vital, programmes like TRiO go further, offering a holistic network of academic and personal support that helps these students persist through challenges that statistics say should derail them. The ripple effect of one graduation For TRiO Director Rosie Montes, herself a first-generation graduate, the stakes are deeply personal. Every student who earns a degree sends a message to siblings, cousins, and community members that higher education is not just for the privileged, it is within reach. The impact extends beyond the individual, shifting mindsets and possibilities for generations to come. A victory in a time of uncertainty In an age when educational programmes across the US are seeing their budgets slashed, the renewal of TRiO's funding is more than a momentary reprieve. It is a statement that targeted investment in first-generation students can break cycles of limitation and open doors to opportunity. For the 1,000 students who will benefit over the next five years, it is proof that their ambition is worth backing, and that their first step into higher education will not be their last. Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
CBS News
07-08-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Stockton's University of the Pacific receives federal grant for first-generation students
Amid defunding of the Department of Education, nearly $2 million of funding was renewed for the University of the Pacific in Stockton – specifically for students who are the first in their family to attend college. Success TRiO, UOP's federally funded student educational opportunity program, says this money will change lives in Stockton. "I'll be the first in the family to finish my bachelor's degree," said Sounie Proeung-Sok, a senior at Pacific. Proeung-Sok, a native Stocktonian, will not only be the first in his family to graduate and get a degree, but also the first to be a university student. "I'm very proud to be first-generation. I'm first-generation Cambodian-American," Proeung-Sok said. "I come from a family of eight. I'm the first in my family to attend college." Recently, the Department of Education awarded TRiO $1.7 million – money that will be going to 1,000 first-generation students who attend UOP over the next five years. Students just like Sounie. "They're coming from low-income backgrounds, such as myself," Proeung-Sok said. "For us to be awarded that $1.7 million grant, that's going to support so many more students who think they don't have that ... financial support to even attend college." It's support the TRiO program was preparing to lose. "It's been really tough, but we had a contingency plan for a couple months now just in case the TRiO grant didn't get refunded for the next five years," said Rosie Montes with TRiO. Montes is the director for the Success TRiO program at Pacific. A first-generation graduate herself, she knows that this money going towards these students is the boost they need. "They're providing for the household, they're paying for groceries. How do first-gen students continue their education while also providing for their family at home?" Montes said. The grant will help 200 students every year for five years, then it could hopefully be renewed again. "I thought I wasn't going to be able to afford college. With the support I received from UOP and the Success TRiO program, it's a possibility for anyone, to be honest," Proeung-Sok said. Sounie says this program has helped him so much, he switched his major to sociology and now plans to help more first-generation students make it through college, just like TRiO helped him.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GCSC Foundation receives $80,000 grant for TRiO program
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – The Gulf Coast State College Foundation has announced that it has received an $80,000 grant from the Edward K. Roberts Community College Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. According to a news release, this award will provide essential support to students served by GCSC's TRiO program, an initiative that empowers low-income, first-generation and disabled students to succeed in higher education. The GCSC Foundation has awarded $670,000 from this fund since 2011. The gifts have supported almost 600 students through direct scholarship and essential programming across campus, including TRiO, the Career Center and Veterans Affairs. 'We are honored to be entrusted with these funds to support the educational journeys of students whose paths to college haven't always been easy,' said Ashlin Glatthar, Executive Director of the GCSC Foundation. 'This grant will have a profound impact, especially for part-time students, student parents, and those pursuing workforce credentials in high-demand fields. We're especially grateful for the flexibility to address not just academic needs but also essential living expenses, which are often the greatest barriers to persistence and completion.' To learn more about the Edward K. Roberts Community College Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SDSU prepares for federal education cutbacks
BROOKINGS, SD (KELO) — The president of South Dakota State University has concerns over the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' passed early Thursday morning in the U.S. House. The bill's provisions include an overhaul of student aid, which critics say will drive up costs for students. Governor Rhoden and Attorney General Marty Jackley tour the southern border The bill's passage comes just one day after university presidents met with the South Dakota Board of Regents to discuss how proposed cutbacks within the U.S. Department of Education will impact their schools. Administrators at South Dakota State University have already been tightening their belts in anticipation of fewer federal dollars flowing into the school. 'We hadn't put things in a freezer, but that we had them in a cooler. So we're trying to slow spending for travel and for purchasing equipment,' SDSU President Barry Dunn said. SDSU President Barry Dunn says the Reconciliation Bill passed in the House will mean fewer research grants for the school, a trend that's already being felt on campus. 'Research activities here at SDSU have slowed down, research activities all across the nation, in human health and agriculture for example, have slowed dramatically and that's concerning,' Dunn said. Dunn says the bill will also make it harder for students to access tuition grants and loans. 'The proposed cuts are very dramatic, cutting programs like work-study, the TRiO program, cutting completely out some loans, some federal loans,' Dunn said. A federal judge has dealt the Trump Administration a blow by pausing efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and ordering laid-off workers back on the job. 'I think the orders that the president has made through executive orders have certainly been provocative and opened up the discussion, but I think the judges have stepped in have probably helped us all by slowing things down,' Dunn said. Dunn says fall enrollment at SDSU is looking good. But he anticipates federal cutbacks in education could lead to uncertainty for students and programs starting next year. Dunn says the school is asking the SDSU Foundation to provide more scholarship money for students due to the potential of fewer grants and loans coming from the federal government. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
