MnSCU receives two grants for college readiness

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Foundation was awarded two grants totaling $425,000 for initiatives to help high school and college students prepare for and succeed in college.
The Blandin Foundation in Grand Rapids awarded the MnSCU system’s foundation $225,000 for the northern Minnesota College Readiness Partnership pilot project. The Otto Bremer Foundation gave the system foundation $200,000 to support the Higher Education Anti-Racism Team initiative.
“We’re proud that these two important foundations are supporting such exciting and innovative programs,” said Chancellor James McCormick. “Both of the initiatives fit well with the Board of Trustees strategic plan, which calls for increasing access and opportunity to higher education in the state.

“We must make sure more students of color, low income students and first-generation college students — all groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education — complete some kind of post-secondary training to ensure their well-being and the state’s competitive edge,” McCormick said.
The initiative funded by the Blandin Foundation is expected to use new and culturally relevant ways of teaching math to about 400 10th through 12th grade students. The project is scheduled to begin this fall and will involve students at Northwest Technical College in Bemidji, Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks, Bemidji State University, Leech Lake Tribal College, Red Lake Tribal College and White Earth Tribal College. Participating high schools include Mahnomen, Cass Lake, Red Lake, Thief River Falls and Bemidji.
The Bremer grant is expected to support the Higher Education Anti-Racism Team initiative at Minnesota State University Moorhead, St. Cloud State University, North Dakota State University, Bethel University, the Minnesota Collaborative Anti-Racism Initiative and the Office of the Chancellor in MnSCU. The initiative encourages participating institutions and communities to strengthen policies and practices that respect and include all racial, ethnic and social groups.