SCHAFER ANNOUNCES GRANTS FOR TRIBAL COLLEGES

BISMARCK, ND, September 19, 2008 – Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer today announced that 17 tribal colleges in eight states have been awarded $4 million through the USDA Rural Development Tribal College Grant program.

“Education is one of the most effective economic development tools we can put into the hands of our tribal communities as they build their economic, business and social opportunities,” Schafer said.

These grants will help tribal colleges buy equipment, build or renovate classrooms, make repairs and finance infrastructure improvements.  For example, Stone Child College in Box Elder, Mont., has been selected for a $272,350 grant to repair infrastructure and build a greenhouse and mobile computer lab. 

Tohono O’odham Community College in Sells, Ariz., also has been selected for a $272,350 grant to repair classrooms and other college buildings to ensure safety for staff and students at the Sells campus. 

In Michigan, the Bay Mills Community College has been awarded $272,350 to pave parking lots on the west campus, demolish and remove old dorms, do site preparation, install a new drain field at the main campus and buy two, new 16- passenger accessible buses and a new seven-passenger van.

The 2008 farm bill extended the existing program authority for the Tribal College and University Essential Community Facilities program through 2012.  Funding of each recipient is contingent upon their meeting the conditions of the grant agreement.  A complete list of grantees is below:

 

State	Recipient	Grant Amount
AZ	Tohono O’odham Community College	$272,350
MI	Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College	$137,000
MI	Bay Mills Community College	$272,350
MN	Leech Lake Tribal College	$121,000
MN	White Earth Tribal and Community College	$15,200
MT	Little Big Horn College	$272,350
MT	Fort Belknap College	$272,350
MT	Stone Child College	$272,350
MT	Salish Kootenai College	$272,350
MT	Blackfeet Community College	$272,350
MT	Fort Peck Community College	$272,350
MT	Chief Dull Knife College	$261,000
ND	Sitting Bull College	$272,350
SD	Oglala Lakota College	$272,350
WA	Northwest Indian College	$272,350
WI	College of Menominee Nation	$272,350
WI	Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College	$272,350

             USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development has invested more than $90 billion since 2001 for equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure.  More than 1.7 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments.  Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development’s web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

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