$2.1 Million Grant Aimed To Help Kentucky College Students Succeed

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education received a huge grant on Tuesday that is going toward improving equity and closing outcome gaps on college campuses, reported The Times Tribune.

The $2.1 million grant came from the James Graham Brown Foundation.

The Kentucky Student Success Collaborative will serve as the first center to serve both two-year and four-year colleges. It will work to link campuses with business leaders and state policymakers.

The effort could help Kentucky to become a leader in developing student achievement strategies, and is the largest privately-funded grant that CPE has ever gotten.

Governor Andy Beshear said:

"This initiative will help drive institutional change at every level. All Kentuckians deserve equitable access to a high-quality college education, and our campuses have developed tremendous momentum toward that goal. Now is the time to scale up with a concentrated, statewide effort that expands on their work. I want to thank the James Graham Brown Foundation for this gift and CPE for their steadfast leadership in this area."

The initiative will also work to connect college campuses with local communities, businesses, policy experts, and other resources to help students succeed.

Mason B. Rummel, president and chief executive of the foundation, stated:

"Student success is a priority for our foundation because we believe that equitable educational attainment will increase economic and social mobility for Kentuckians."

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