Eduardo J. Padrón
President
Office of the President
300 N.E. Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33132-2297
305-237-3316
epadron@mdc.edu
Message From the President
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
MDC Awarded Major Grant From the Lumina Foundation for Latino Student Success Initiative
I am pleased to announce that the Lumina Foundation has awarded MDC a $600,000 grant to implement an extensive Latino Student Success project aimed at increasing Latino college completion and the number of college graduates in America. MDC was one of only 12 institutions nationwide to be selected for this project, which will help further the goals of the College's MDC³ Student Success and Completion Initiatives.
As part of the Lumina project, MDC and community leaders across key policy, education, business and nonprofit sectors, will build bridges among leadership groups already working to improve Latino college student success, capitalizing on local talents and ingenuity. Through the grant, MDC will expand its efforts to design and implement a model pathway to college completion by:
- Providing financial literacy resources and services to secondary and post-secondary students and their families
- Designing professional development programs for Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) counselors and ensuring completion of college applications for MDCPS students
- Aligning MDCPS curriculum with MDC’s accelerated developmental education program with customized academic interventions
- Aligning MDC’s curriculum with public four-year institutions in Florida and leveraging employer resources for scholarship and job opportunities (Transfer 2 + 2 + Work)
- Developing a comprehensive public information campaign in support of Latino Student Success
MDC was selected for this highly competitive grant because of our record of success in creating innovative strategies in student achievement and completion. The Lumina award arrives on the heels of the $500,000 grant that MDC received from the Carnegie Corporation last week, in addition to the College’s recent recognition as one of the 10 finalist colleges by the Aspen Institute’s Community College Excellence Program, and MDC’s receipt of the multimillion-dollar Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Completion By Design grant earlier this year.
I would like to thank everyone who played a part in securing these funds and thank each of you for all of the work that you do every day to help our students succeed at MDC. Increasing student success and completion rates is a team effort and we must continue to work together to effect positive change for our College and community.
Thank you.
Eduardo