Estrella Mountain Community College's President, Dr. Ernest Lara, has been at the helm of the college for the past year and great things are happening. Dr. Lara was officially appointed president of Estrella Mountain Community College in July 2007 and has since embarked the college on an exciting journey to becoming more of a Learning College (a League for Innovation initiative) and has received a $2.8 million grant to assist in that journey.
In an interview in July 2007, Lara stated that "(high school) students need to get an early opportunity to realize they can be successful and move on to college; success builds success." This philosophy is embedded in the goals of the college fitting into the "Learning College" mold. There are four goals in getting the college to that point - building student preparedness and development; increasing student engagement; transforming campus climate and culture; and growing and aligning endowment support. Each of those goals have sub-topics that cover everything from career planning to providing the right resources for students to help them realize that higher education is attainable. The Title V grant, titled "Strengthening Hispanic Institutions," will be allocated to the college over the course of five years to support these goals.
The grant, awarded to the college by the United States Department of Education, will provide the college with the opportunity to expand services to all students; including improving academic programs, student services, technology, and facilities. The grant also states that funds may be used to implement community outreach programs with local and secondary schools, special programs to improve student academic success and for the purchase of resource materials.
The $2.8 million allocation includes a $375,000 non-federal endowment match. To fully maximize this match, the college must raise a minimum of $75,000 per year, over the next five years. This increased fundraising effort will strengthen the college's endowment and as a result, will provide an increase in scholarship opportunities for the college's future students. If the endowment match is reached, the actual value of the grant will total approximately $3.2 million, of which 88% is federally funded and 12% from non-federal sources."
This year has been an exciting one, working with the League for Innovation to bring the Learning College model to EMCC and receiving this grant to help us reach that goal. I'm looking forward to working with the community to help us reach the endowment match so we can continue to provide opportunities for students to reach their academic goals and ultimately give back to our community as educated and fulfilled individuals," said Lara.