Chaminade University Wins CIC And Walmart Foundation College Success Award

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Chaminade University Wins CIC And Walmart Foundation College Success Award
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Kelly Cheeseman, Walmart
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CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY WINS CIC AND WALMART FOUNDATION COLLEGE SUCCESS AWARD

HONOLULU - June 22, 2010--The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Walmart Foundation have selected Chaminade University through a competitive application process to receive a $50,000 grant to help strengthen exemplary programs that support the education of first-generation students. The award is part of a second cohort of winners of the Walmart College Success Awards.

Thirty CIC member colleges and universities, selected through a competitive application process, will receive substantial grants to benefit first-generation students. The newly selected 30 institutions and the 20 initial College Success Award recipients (selected in June 2008) will work together as a network to assist first-generation college students, learn from one another, and serve as models for other colleges and universities.

Chaminade was one of 10 institutions that established worthy projects receiving $50,000 awards. All award winners have an undergraduate enrollment that includes at least 30 percent first-generation students among the most recent classes of first-year students.

In announcing the award winners, CIC President Richard Ekman said, "We are delighted by the recognition that this second grant from the Walmart Foundation gives to the role played by nonprofit private colleges in educating first-generation students. Much attention has been focused recently on higher education as a key to making the United States workforce stronger and the country more competitive in the 21st century world economy. As the federal government and philanthropic leaders call for increased degree completion in higher education, small and mid-sized private institutions are an underutilized resource in this effort. Private colleges also enroll comparable or higher percentages of lower-income and first-generation students to public institutions and they require far less subsidy by state governments to succeed in meeting these national goals. Most importantly, nonprofit private institutions have moved beyond a focus on access to a record of unmatched success in retaining and graduating low-income and first-generation students."

According to data from the American Association of Community Colleges, more than six million students a year enroll for credit at the nation's community colleges. However, only 26 percent actually transfer to a four-year college. In addition, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the six-year graduation rate of first-generation students at public four-year institutions is only 44 percent compared with 61 percent at private colleges and universities.

"In short, if we are to achieve the ambitious national goal of increased numbers of college graduates, the lessons learned from the experiences of private colleges will need to be heeded by national policymakers and others," Ekman stressed.

The Walmart College Success Awards program will include a conference in 2011, online networking opportunities, and a final publication on best practices from both cohorts to be disseminated at the end of the grant period in 2013.

For more information about the Walmart College Success Awards and the programs of the 30 winners, visit the CIC website at www.cic.edu/projects_services/walmart_college_success.asp.

About The Council of Independent Colleges

The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of more than 600 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that work together to strengthen college and university leadership, sustain high-quality education, and enhance private higher education's contributions to society. To fulfill this mission, CIC provides its members with skills, tools, and knowledge that address aspects of leadership, financial management and performance, academic quality, and institutional visibility. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.cic.edu/.

About Philanthropy at Walmart

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support the charitable causes that are important to customers and associates in their own neighborhoods. The Walmart Foundation funds initiatives focused on education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness. >From Feb. 1, 2009 through Jan. 31, 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $512 million in cash and in-kind gifts globally, $467 million of which was donated in the U.S. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.

About Chaminade University
Celebrating more than 50 years of educating students for life, service and successful careers, Chaminade University offers programs of study grounded in the liberal arts with day, evening, online and accelerated courses. The main campus is located in Kaimuki at 3140 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816, with 10 satellite locations around Oahu military bases and Catholic parishes and schools. For more information, visit the Chaminade web site at www.chaminade.edu or call
(808) 735-4711.

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