$2.6M Allocated In Higher-Ed Funding For Asian, Native Americans

WASHINGTON -  The U.S. Department of Education awarded over $2.6 million for fiscal year 2010 to eight new AANAPISIs. The AANAPISI grants support leadership development, student retention and graduation, collection and analysis of AAPI student data, faculty training and curriculum development.

“The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) is excited to expand the list of AANAPISI-funded schools and encourage more to apply,” said WHIAAPI Executive Director Kiran Ahuja. “An AANAPISI designation helps build a stronger pathway for federal resources that can serve Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) institutions, community organizations and students.”

The purpose of the AANAPISI program is to provide grants to eligible institutions of higher education to improve academic quality, increase self-sufficiency and strengthen capacity to make a substantial contribution to our nation’s higher education resources. Applying for AANAPISI grants is a two-step process: (1) institutions must self-certify that they have at least a 10% enrollment of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students and that at least 50% of their degree-seeking students receive Federal financial assistance to receive the designation (2) institutions must apply for a competitive AANAPISI grant. 

There are two AANAPISI grant competitions. The eight aforementioned institutions received funding from Part A, a discretionary fund of $3.6 for FY 2010. The second competition is Part F, a $5 million mandatory fund from the Health Care and Education Affordability Act to be distributed annually over the next ten years. Competition for Part F funding will take place early next year.

With the addition of eight newly named AANAPISIs, there are now a total of sixteen funded AANAPISIs. A list of AANAPISI Part A grantees and awards follows.

Coast Community College (CA) – $400,000
Mission Community College (CA) – $400,000
Peralta Community College-Laney (CA) – $350,827
Richland College (TX) – $359,827
San Francisco Community College (CA) – $64,412
University of Guam (GU) – $261,708
University of Illinois at Chicago (IL) – $390,880
University of Massachusetts at Boston (MA) – $386,111