(Burbank, CA ­ June 29, 2001) Woodbury University will receive $2 million from the U.S. Department of Education during the next five years to provide Hispanic students with additional support both inside and outside the classroom.

Funded under Title V of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) program aims to enhance the academic offerings, program quality and stability of institutions educating a significant percentage of Hispanic students. Approximately 30 percent of Woodbury's students are Hispanic.

Woodbury will use the $2 million grant to improve academics, student advising, student services, library resources, campus facilities, technology, student retention and graduation rates.

"We are extremely pleased to be recognized by the Department of Education for our commitment to increasing each and every Hispanic student's chance of academic success," says Kenneth R. Nielsen, Ed.D., president, Woodbury University. "This grant will help Woodbury to become better at what we do and will produce tangible benefits for our students. The greater Los Angeles area also will benefit from an increased number of Hispanic professionals available for jobs across a wide range of high-paying, high-demand fields such as architecture, animation, fashion design, graphic design, e-commerce, business, computer information systems and marketing."

"I applaud Woodbury University for creating and strengthening opportunities for Hispanic American students to attend and excel at college," says Congressman Adam Schiff, who had urged the Department of Education to grant the funding application. "Access to higher education has long been a hallmark of American democracy and has created opportunities for advancement among members of minority communities."

HSIs are colleges or universities in which Hispanics represent at least 25 percent of the student population and at least half of those students are low-income. Some 195 two- and four- year schools have been designated as HSIs. About 40 percent of Hispanic undergraduate students are enrolled in these schools.

"These grants will help address the needs of colleges and universities that create high-quality education and training opportunities for Hispanic American students ­ many of whom are the first in their families to seek a college education," U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige said in announcing the awards.

Hispanic enrollment in higher education has increased nearly 50 percent in six years ­ from 782,000 in 1990 to about 1.3 million in 1999. By the year 2050, nearly one-quarter of the nation's population will be Hispanic.

Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. An accredited, nonprofit university, Woodbury is located on a 22-acre residential campus in Burbank and offers bachelor's degrees from the School of Architecture and Design, Business and Management, and Arts and Sciences. Woodbury also offers a master of business administration as well as weekend and evening study for working adults. A San Diego campus was established in 1998 to offer bachelor of architecture degrees.