BROWNLEY ANNOUNCES OVER $1.1 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS IN VENTURA COUNTY

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) announced that California State University, Channel Islands (CSUCI) and the Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) will receive federal grants from the Department of Education’s Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program.

“I am so pleased to announce Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions grants for the Ventura County Community College District and Cal State Channel Islands,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “I am committed to ensuring that no student is priced out of a college education and am pleased that these important educational institutions in Ventura County will have additional funds to increase opportunities for Ventura County’s diverse student body.”

“This highly competitive grant enables CI to enhance and expand our curricular, co-curricular and professional development programs while infusing High-Impact Practices. The ultimate goal of this infusion of funds will be to increase both our retention and graduation rates with specific focus on our most at-risk students,” said Dr. Richard. R. Rush, President of California State University, Channel Islands.

“The entire Oxnard College community is excited about the potential that this grant provides to develop a regional approach to building educational opportunities for high-need, low-income students. In partnership with regional high schools and California State University, Channel Islands, integrated learning experiences establish across all academic programs at Oxnard College,” said James M. Limbaugh, Ph. D., Interim President at Oxnard College. “When combined with expanded student support services, we expect an increase in college preparedness and successful transfer to four-year universities and/or career placement. We are grateful for the continuing support of Congresswoman Julia Brownley and her staff, whose advocacy played a key role in our securing this grant to expand educational attainment initiatives for the students of our community.”

The Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program provides grants to assist Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the attainment of, Hispanic students. These grants also enable HSIs to expand and enhance their academic offerings, program quality, and institutional stability.

CSUCI was awarded $525,000, to implement Project OLAS (Optimizing Learning, Achievement, and Success), which is focused on curricular, co-curricular, and professional developments, as well as developing a university culture in high-minority high school communities.

VCCCD was awarded $649,017 to implement Project Adelante, which focuses on creating a higher education pipeline for first-generation, underrepresented, and low-income students, as well as improving college readiness.

In Congress, Brownley has been a strong supporter of funding for the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program.

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Julia Brownley represents California’s 26th Congressional District, which includes most of Ventura County, and Westlake Village in Los Angeles County. She serves as the Ranking Member on the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health and serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.