催化其以基督为中心, missional commitment to bring educational opportunity to diverse student populations, 亚博体育 (WPU) is pleased to announce it has been selected by the U.S. 教育部 to receive a landmark, five-year, $3 million grant under the Title V 发展拉美裔服务机构 程序. The competitively awarded grant is awarded to colleges and universities serving Hispanic, 低收入, 以及代表性不足的学生群体, 旨在扩大教育机会和成功.
“As a Christian university this recognition affirms our core calling – to put our faith into action by ensuring academic opportunity is available to a diverse range of students and to empower those students to care for our world,WPU主席Dr. Brian Johnson. “我们即将迎来90周年纪念, we are proud of our Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving designations – and we are grateful this grant will allow us to grow in our ability to serve those who traditionally have been shut out from the credentials necessary to truly live out their calling.”
WPU 61%的本科生认为自己是有色人种, 32%的人认为自己是西班牙裔, WPU is just one of six institutions in the state – and the only university in Oregon – to be federally designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution, 这一荣誉自2018年以来一直保持着. 这份赠款名为“项目Avanzamos: Advancing 亚博体育 from Hispanic-Enrolling to Hispanic-Serving”, 进一步推动大学改善学生支持的计划, 学术的选项, 毕业率和专业成果.
“尽管我们招收了大量的西班牙裔学生, 被公认为俄勒冈州最多元化的大学, 报名人数不够,负责招生和学生成功的副校长说. Darilis加西亚. “’Serving’ is about intentionality – it means understanding our students’ needs and strengths, and adapting our instruction and environment to ensure we create pathways to full success. 通过努力更好地为这个庞大的群体服务, 在现实中, 我们也会更好地为其他学生服务.”
项目Avanzamos 包括三个主要目标:
- 加强学术项目. 在接下来的五年里, the grant will support a campus-wide initiative that integrates career considerations and experiential learning into the WPU academic experience. Outcomes will include new approaches to curriculum that embed career-thinking and application throughout a major, and developing a new Spanish translation certificate program that will help students graduate with a credential that makes them even more marketable.
- 改善对学生的支持. WPU is focused on what happens outside of the classroom to support students as well. The grant improves ways to honor cultural wealth and foster a sense of belonging through an eco-system of “wrap-around” support. 特别是, staff will work to create a new community-wide mentorship and coaching initiative connecting Hispanic students with peers, 教师, 以及在学生上学期间支持他们的社区领袖.
- 支持机构基础设施和成果. 这笔拨款也将帮助WPU建立新的研究所, 基于证据的建议，提高学生的成绩, 缩小股权差距，稳定学费收入. 特别令人兴奋的是一个计划，创造一个新的 学术成功与成就中心(简称CASA) – a physical space on campus with designated staff to welcome students and lead programming that supports professional development for students and staff alike.
除了被联邦政府指定为西班牙裔服务, earlier this year WPU qualified for the AANAPISI (Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution) as well. The news follows a trajectory of student enrollment that includes increasing numbers of Black / African American students, and a growing percentage of students who speak languages other than English. 今天, 西太平洋大学是太平洋西北地区唯一一所基督教大学, 这只是全国几十个中的一个, 被美国政府认定为“少数民族服务”.S. 教育部.
“WPU正在满足一个重要的需求,约翰逊总统说, 谁是这所大学的第一位非裔美国校长. “虽然我们在近一个世纪前亚博体育是一所圣经学院, and have a beautiful history of having led thousands of devoted men and women to serve their communities, today we are extending that gift of calling to so many who have traditionally been denied the same chance to learn in a community that emphasizes values of empathy and service, 信仰与爱, 和实际能力技能一样多. 事实是，我们需要有能力、有个性的多元化领导人. This grant affirms our intention to empower people of color to access a quality, 以信仰为基础的, inclusive education and to step out into the world prepared to live purpose-driven lives.”
除了改善对学生的服务, the grant further supports a university that is seeking to turn around an enrollment decline post-pandemic, 重建与社区的联系. 今年早些时候, WPU successful overcame an accreditation warning issued several years prior and received commendation by its accrediting body, 西北高等院校委员会, 因为他们采取了强有力的措施来改变其机构总体规划.
“就像很多小的, 私立大学, 我们不得不在新冠疫情后转向, while staying true to a mission that is about helping students become whom they were meant to become,大学关系高级副总裁Jennifer Boehmer说. “好消息是, our civic and sacred communities are united in a vision that requires us to work together to advance, 火车, and cultivate more leadership opportunities for historically underrepresented and underserved communities. 是亚博体育公平的, 但也, 用圣经的话来说, 我们认为这项工作真实地反映了神的国度.”
The vast majority (80%) of WPU’s traditional undergraduate students commute to campus. Many live with their families and desire to remain in the Portland area after they graduate. 俄勒冈州最便宜的私立大学, 98% of WPU students rely on financial aid to attend college and more than 42% speak languages other than English. 应对这些挑战对美国经济增长做出了贡献.S. 新闻 and World Report naming WPU a “Top Performer” in Social Mobility for 2023.
“I’m thrilled that this grant really creates opportunities for all of our students,约翰逊总统说. “我们的目的不仅是满足学生的需求, 而是在他们努力实现梦想的过程中与他们并肩同行. By recognizing the work we need to do to better serve our Hispanic students, we create an infrastructure that catalyzes all students to overcome cycles of poverty for themselves, and create generational opportunities that fulfill vocational calling as well as earn credentials. 我为这一刻的到来感到无比自豪. 我们站在员工的肩膀上, 教师, 校友, and friends who have prayerfully empowered us to serve our world in this way today.”