U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse announced the awarding of $226,000 in federal funding to support Rhode Island College’s designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution.
The funding, which was secured by Whitehouse, will assist in the launch of a capacity building initiative aimed at increasing enrollment of Hispanic and Latino students at the public college.
“Rhode Island College has done excellent work to improve student outcomes and bring higher education within reach for more Rhode Islanders,” said Whitehouse. “I am glad to secure this federal funding to help RIC – the first federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution in our state – help first-generation college students succeed.”
The federal funding will also be used to support the development of a new report that will analyze barriers and opportunities in higher education for Hispanic and Latino students in Rhode Island. The report, which is to be authored by the Latino Policy Institute at Rhode Island College, will aim to explore how the college can leverage its HSI designation to address enrollment, retention, and equity gaps.
“Rhode Island College is a reflection of diversity within our great state. We educate a diverse cross-section of Rhode Islanders and our federal designations as a Hispanic Serving Institution and Minority Serving Institution are affirmation of our mission to serve all students,” said Dr. Jack R. Warner, President, Rhode Island College. “Through the continued support of leaders like Senator Whitehouse and our congressional delegation we are able to connect our diverse communities to our campus and be a driving force behind the next great leaders, innovators, and scholars in Rhode Island.”
RIC became the first college in Rhode Island to receive federal HSI designation in 2022. About 25 percent of full-time undergraduate students at the college identify as Hispanic or Latino.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
