$7,337,880 for SPC

ST. PHILIP’S COLLEGE RECEIVES GRANT ALLOCATIONS OF $5,990,224 AND $1,347,656 FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Grants, best practices stimulate retention at and graduation from one of the nation’s largest student-enrolled historically black colleges

St. Philip’s College is among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) strengthening their academic resources, financial management systems, endowment-building capacity and physical plants as a result of two institutional grant awards allocated by the U.S. Department of Education in 2018 and effective Oct. 1.

The award allocations were the Fiscal Year 2018 Title III, Part B (HBCU) Award Allocation of $5,990,224, and the Fiscal Year 2018 Title III, Part F (SAFRA) Award Allocation of $1,347,656.

The $5,990,224 allocation is known as a Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities grant. The $1,347,656 allocation is known as a Student Aid and Financial Responsibility Act (SAFRA) grant. The grants were separately awarded to the college on Aug. 27 for Title III and Aug. 29 for SAFRA respectively, resulting in a combined award allocation of $7,337,880, according to college Title III Director Dr. Erick Akins.

The five-year HBCU grant announced by the U.S. Department of Education in 2018 is used to strengthen and enhance HBCUs. While St. Philip’s College’s current enrollment of over 13,000 is one of the largest enrollments among HBCUs, the 2018 grant award exceeds the 2017 grant award of $5,000,725 by roughly $900,000 in part because one element in the formula for establishing the level of funding for the grant award is the number of students graduating from the institution, and the number of students graduating from the college increased in 2018, Akins said.

The five-year SAFRA grant was announced by the U.S. Department of Education in 2018. A $1,322,023 SAFRA grant allocation awarded to the college in 2016 completely funded the remainder of the $10 million third renovation completed in 2017 at the college’s 64-year-old Turbon Student Center, constructed in 1953, renovated in both 1976 and 1996 and named for Professor/Director Of Counseling Emeritus Everett L. Turbon (1919-2002). Activities at St. Philip’s College enhanced under the 2018 SAFRA grant allocation of $1,347,656 will consist of Campus Renovation and Student Services Support, Akins explained.

Both grants are supplements to the college’s operational budget for critical college functions. These allocations allow the college to provide additional innovative resources for the success of its students. In 2017, both supplements were significant funding for the purposes of strengthening the institution, with a strategic focus on best practices, programs and services to increase graduation rates.

Established as a school for daughters of former U.S. slaves in 1898, in 2018, 120-year-old St. Philip’s College observes its 31st anniversary as an HBCU member institution (1987-2018). The HBCU and SAFRA grants are administered by the Office of Postsecondary Education. For additional information on the grant programs, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3b/index.html.