HUD AWARDS $2.4 MILLION TO NATIVE HAWAIIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

WASHINGTON, DC – September 16, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded $2.4 million to three Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian colleges and universities to stimulate neighborhood revitalization, promote affordable housing and promote economic development in their communities.  The funding announced today is provided through HUD’s Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities (AN/NHIAC) Program.

“These colleges and universities can be powerful drivers to promote community and economic revitalization,” said Donovan.  “The funding we announce today will improve communities and expand affordable housing beyond these campuses and into the communities served by these institutions of higher learning.

The following Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian colleges and universities were awarded funding (see attached for a description of these projects):

For an institution to qualify under this program as an Alaska Native Institution, at least 20 percent of the undergraduate student enrollment must be Alaska Native.  At least 10 percent of a school’s undergraduate population must be Native Hawaiian to qualify as a Native Hawaiian Institution.  In addition, all institutions must be a two- or four-year institution and fully accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. 

HUD’s grants are not intended to directly benefit these colleges and universities but will help these institutions undertake a wide variety of activities, particularly those that benefit low-income persons.  These activities may include:

•  Acquiring property;

• Demolishing blighted structures;

• Rehabilitating homes, including cleaning up lead-based paint hazards and making modifications that improve accessibility;

• Improving public facilities such as water and sewer systems;

• Providing downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- and moderate-income homebuyers;

• Offering assistance to small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises;

• Assisting community-based development organizations to carry out neighborhood revitalization; and

• Supporting public services such as job training, child care, fair housing, and housing counseling.

The Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities Program is one of several initiatives administered by HUD’s Office of University Partnerships (OUP).  Established in 1994, OUP is a catalyst for partnering colleges and universities with their communities in an effort to address pressing local problems. For more information about HUD’s partnership with institutions of higher education, visit HUD’s website.

Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions
Assisting Communities Program Summaries

University of Alaska Fairbanks–Bristol Bay Campus

Grant Amount:      $798,523

The University of Alaska, Fairbanks—Bristol Bay Campus intends to use its Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities (AN/NHIAC) grant to assist Alaska Native and community residents who have very low- to moderate-incomes through their “Healthier Sustainable Communities in Bristol Bay” project, designed to address  needs in their geographically isolated rural villages.  The main purpose for utilizing these funds will be to enhance the quality of in-region job training and employment assistance and to increase services to local employers, employees and future employees.  Activities will concentrate primarily in three areas for economic development:  education outreach for special populations, including unemployed adults and youth and those needing basic education and family literacy skills; job training/career exploration; and job creation through small business development.  Educational outreach activities will include the development of a Dillingham Career Center that will provide services to local residents and families, including family literacy and an outreach component to school districts, adult basic education programs, military, and unemployed youth.

University of Alaska Fairbanks–Chukchi Campus

Grant Amount:      $787,191

The University of Alaska, Fairbanks–Chukchi Campus intends to use its Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities (AN/NHIAC) grant to revise the existing construction trades program to reflect the needs of the local housing authorities and the research of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) into high efficiency, alternative energy use housing for Arctic communities.  Chukchi Campus, in partnership with the Alaska Technical Center and the Northwest Inupiat Housing Authority, will train an underserved workforce in carpentry with a specific emphasis on energy solutions for the Arctic.  Students completing this training program will be certified in cold climate construction.  Also, during the summer of 2011, Chukchi Campus’s CTT students will assist CCHRC in building an energy-efficient Arctic home in the village of Buckland. CCHRC has an excellent reputation with involving each community they work in with the planning, design and construction of highly energy efficient homes which are designed to protect the family within from harsh, unforgiving Arctic winters.  These homes also save the family thousands of dollars in energy costs per year.

University of Hawaii—Kapi’olani Community College

Grant Amount:      $800,000

The University of Hawaii—Kapi’olani Community College (KCC) intends to use its Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities (AN/NHIAC) grant to renovate and connect culinary and continuing education classrooms to create the Kapahulu Learning and Outreach Center.  The center will be energy efficient, environmentally friendly, healthy, and include elements of visibility and universal design. The renovation and construction will enable KCC faculty and service-learning students and Kapahulu Center staff to deliver comprehensive programs and services to increase and improve:  economic security and self-sufficiency; housing stability; financial literacy, financial planning, and entrepreneurship; public safety; computer and Internet literacy and expertise through courses and ongoing tutoring; reading, math, and science proficiency outcomes for diverse youth from Title 1 schools; health and fitness indicators through exercise physiology education; completion of Science Technology and Engineering and Math (STEM) and other Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, and provide job placement services; integration of the programs developed from grants obtained from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title III program, U.S. Department of Labor, Corporation for National and Community Service, and National Science Foundation with Kapahulu community development; and the capacity of the college for research, assessment, evaluation, and planning for sustainability and improvement.

Contact:
Brian Sullivan
(202) 708-0685