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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2002

Lumina Foundation announces more than $4.2 million in grants to improve college access

INDIANAPOLIS — Between January 1 and June 30, 2002, Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation for Education approved $4,239,500 in grants to improve college access nationwide.

"The Foundation is supporting a range of grant programs, research and communication initiatives focused on expanding access and success in to postsecondary education," said Martha D. Lamkin, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation. "This package of grants demonstrates the Foundation's interest in supporting promising direct-service initiatives, expanding those with a record of success, and fortifying systemic change efforts to improve student success nationwide."

Grants approved by Lumina Foundation in the first half of 2002 are listed below, grouped by the following theme areas:

Access
Many financial and nonfinancial factors inhibit college access. The following grants address some of these barriers.

The Brookings Institution (Washington, D.C.) — $62,000 planning grant to develop a convening and communication strategy to identify the most important financing issues confronting higher education over the next several decades and suggest ways to deal with these issues.

Commission for Higher Education — State of Indiana (Indianapolis, IN) - $546,000 three-year grant to develop an Indiana Pathways to College Network as a national blueprint for a state-based effort to connect the work of pre-college access researchers and practitioners.

Delaware-District of Columbia-Maryland Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (Columbia, MD) — $45,100 grant to sponsor College Goal Sunday 2002 in Delaware, the District of Columbia and Maryland. Sponsored by Lumina Foundation, College Goal Sunday is a volunteer program in several states that provides free information and assistance to low-income families applying for college financial aid.

Hawaii Association of College Admission Counselors (Honolulu, HI) — $6,400 grant to sponsor a College Goal Sunday pilot site in 2002.

Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education (Jefferson City, MO) — $300,100 two-year grant to develop better-informed, research-based public policy strategies to ensure financial access for low-income students through allocations to students and institutions.

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) (Denver, CO) — $100,000 multi-year grant to help NCSL assist state legislators and legislative staff members in making more informed policy decisions about college affordability and access.

Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA) — $246,400 three-year grant to sponsor College Goal Sunday 2002-2004 in California.

Trustees of Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) — $313,700 multi-year grant to fund a research project to assess the effects of state fiscal and financial aid policies on college access and persistence.

Student Retention/Attainment
Once in college, many students hit stumbling blocks that prohibit them from reaching their postsecondary goals. The following grants address issues regarding student retention and attainment.

Foundation for California Community Colleges (Sacramento, CA) —$143,000 multi-year grant to increase student success in Elementary Algebra in the California Community Colleges by disseminating tested models that improve mathematics instruction.

Indiana University Foundation (Bloomington, IN) — $1,317,300 two-year grant to help four-year colleges and universities document uses of the National Survey of Student Engagement to increase student learning and graduation rates.

University of Northern Colorado Foundation, Inc. (Greeley, CO) — $19,800 grant to develop an experimental research design to assess effect of an elective undergraduate information literacy course on student retention.

Nontraditional Learning
Today's learners include a growing proportion of older students and students who attend school part time and intermittently throughout their lives. The following grants focus on the special needs of adult students and other nontraditional learners.

Arizona State University (ASU) (Tempe, AZ) — $10,000 grant to provide general support for ASU's Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program.

Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (New York, NY) — $100,000 grant to design a multi-year program demonstration and evaluation of innovative community college practices intended to help low-income adult learners earn postsecondary credentials.

Multi-themed Grants
The following grants cross more than one of Lumina Foundation's primary theme areas, which are access, student retention/attainment and nontraditional/adult students.

Maricopa County Community College District (Tempe, AZ) — $10,000 grant to support innovative access programs at Rio Salado College.

The Public Agenda Foundation (New York, NY) — $50,000 grant to develop a comprehensive online guide to higher education issues for journalists, policy-makers, educators and the public.

Indiana-Focused Initiatives
As an Indiana-based foundation, Lumina Foundation sets aside a modest portion of its grant money each year to fund projects that are specific to its home state.

Commission for Higher Education - State of Indiana (Indianapolis, IN) — $259,800 two-year grant to support the Postsecondary Pathways Project Analysis of College Board Data on Student Achievement and Related Indiana and National Databases.

Community Centers of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN) —$113,300 two-year grant to support the Student Enrichment Program pilot project.

The Trustees of Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) — $596,600 three-year grant to extend the services offered by the Indiana Career and Postsecondary Advancement Center in Indiana and beyond.

Lumina Foundation for Education, a private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school. Through research, grants for innovative programs and communication initiatives, Lumina Foundation addresses issues surrounding financial access and educational retention and degree or certificate attainment -- particularly among underserved student groups, including adult learners. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in themselves and that society can make in its people.

For more information, contact Sara Murray-Plumer, director of communications at (317) 951-5493 or splumer@luminafoundation.org.