SAN ANTONIO (Aug. 25, 2015)–––St. Philip’s College is among 95 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in 19 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands strengthening their academic resources, financial management systems, endowment-building capacity and physical plants as a result of grants awarded to the college by the U.S. Department of Education on July 23 and July 24.
The five-year grant announced by the U.S. Department of Education in 2012 is used to strengthen and enhance Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The activities at St. Philip’s College enhanced under the grant in its fourth year will consist of: student services, centers of excellence in mathematics and science; instructional labs; campus renovation; information and communication technology; institutes for teaching excellence and staff development and a veterans outreach and transition center.
The 117-year-old college’s funding for the fourth year of the institutional grant is $4,220,034, explained St. Philip’s College President Dr. Adena Williams Loston and college Title III Director Dr. Erick Akins. St. Philip’s College’s current enrollment of over 11,000 is the second largest enrollment among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, however the award is numerically proportionate to the number of students receiving federal financial aid, reduced by 31 percent to approximately 4,198 students in 2015, both Akins and Loston explained.
“This supplement to our operational budget for critical college functions allows us to provide additional innovative resources for the success of our students,” said Loston. “It’s extremely significant funding for the purposes of strengthening our institution, with a focus on seven areas to stimulate retention and graduation from college,” Loston said.
The Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities grant is administered by the Office of Postsecondary Education. For additional information on the grant program, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3b/index.html. The $1,235,539 Student Aid and Financial Responsibility Act Funding grant awarded to the college will partially fund a $10 million third renovation underway at the college’s 63-year-old Turbon Student Center, constructed in 1953, renovated in both 1976 and 1996 and named for Professor/Director Of Counseling Emeritus Everett L. Turbon (1919-2002).
