ROCKEFELLER ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR UPWARD BOUND PROGRAMS
~Over $2.6 million for Colleges and Universities in West Virginia~
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded a total of $2,695,529 in TRIO funding targeted to assist low-income students in West Virginia pursue higher education.
“Education is the key to a young person’s future. These types of grants help some students open the door to an education that they might otherwise be locked out of,” Rockefeller said. “By giving these students the opportunity to pursue higher education we will, in turn, develop a highly skilled workforce that can take on the challenges of the new global economy.”
The federal funding will provide grants to institutions of higher education through the TRIO’s Upward Bound program. These grants will fund approximately 575 participants from seven different colleges and universities across West Virginia. The colleges and universities receiving funding are:
Concord University, Athens - $390,929
Davis & Elkins College, Elkins - $645,513
Marshall University, Huntington - $344,012
Potomac State College/WVU, Morgantown - $282,211
Salem International University, Salem - $403,961
West Virginia University – Morgantown, Morgantown - $250,000
West Virginia University Institute of Technology, Montgomery - $378,903
Upward Bound provides fundamental support and opportunities to participants to succeed in their pre-college performance and their preparation for college entrance. Increasing the rate at which participants complete secondary education, Upward Bound provides them with 6-week summer programs on college campuses, as well as tutoring and mentoring to support college attendance.
Participants of Upward Bound include high school students from low-income families, high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree, and low-income, first-generation military veterans who are preparing to enter post-secondary education.
Throughout his career, Senator Rockefeller has been a strong advocate of education funding and has fought to promote funding for TRIO programs. In recent years the Administration has sought to limit funding to TRIO while Rockefeller continues to push for increased funding for these vital education programs.
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