Hispanics face retirement challenges due to low financial literacy, limited savings, and distrust of financial institutions. Improved education, proactive planning, and investment in diverse assets like real estate and mutual funds can help bridge wealth gaps and ensure financial security.
An Interview with Stephanie Rodriguez, State Secretary of Higher Education
Written by San Diego Community College District
Two hundred Colombians are slated to travel to Cuba in order to pursue medical degrees with the first group flying out today. The group of 200 include 22 former FARC rebels. This is all part of a scholarship program that is being financed by Cuba’s government.
Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, is offering undergraduates whose parents, spouses or legal guardians work in “mission-centered” nonprofit and public-service jobs a 50 percent break in tuition. These jobs can include law enforcement professionals, teachers, church and faith-based employees, military personnel, and arts organizations workers.
Three University of Florida area studies centers have received $5.9 million in major grants. The U.S. Department of Education Title VI Program has named UF’s African, European and Latin American studies centers Title VI Comprehensive National Resource Centers (NRC) and has awarded them Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship grants.
Indiana University Southeast (IU Southeast) is one of a dozen college campuses nationally to receive federal grant money to help combat sexual violence. IU Southeast received $300,000, which will be used specifically for the New Albany campus. The money was awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women.
Arizona Milk Producers have added a new component to their scholarship contest – online videos. The Arizona Milk Producers Scholarship Contest, which has been in existence for more than 50 years, is now having applicants create and share a :30 or less "Reel" Milk Moment video that features at least one dairy product.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have announced the first round of nearly $100 million to help middle and high schools in 13 states. This first round will benefit a specific 19 program initiatives, and Gates has also pledged $460 million over the next five years to fund programs to help low-income and minority students get into college.
Illinois Commitment, a University of Illinois program, is offering free tuition and fees to qualified in-state students to encourage them to go to college in state. Families of eligible students must have an income that is below $61,000 annually, and the free tuition and fees will cover eight semesters.
New IRS rules that reduce the tax break that doners get for donating to the Alabama Accountability Act might impact state-supported private school scholarships for low-income students. Prior to the rules change, donors would get a dollar-for-dollar reduction on their income tax bill and also could claim a federal tax deduction.
Advocate for student loan borrowers, Seth Frotman, has resigned from his position as student loan ombudsman with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Frotman was the government’s top official overseeing student loan market; student loan debt has ballooned to roughly $1.5 trillion this year.
Alumni from Kansas Wesleyan University have established the Conservation Endowed Scholarship. Created to honor the founder of The Land Institute, Wes Jackson, the scholarship will be awarded each year to a biology student at Kansas Wesleyan University that is in good academic standing.
Wisconsin and Minnesota students have a new scholarship opportunity. Wisconsin entrepreneurs Marty Ryan and Richard Sterbenz have set up a $4 million fund, which will allow scholarships to be awarded annually to about 100 students. Those eligible include students attending a two- or four-year college.
Hazard Community and Technical College, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, and Big Sandy Community and Technical College are being awarded $2.5 million in grants from the federal government. The three community colleges are planning to train a workforce for advanced manufacturing employers, and the project is expected to create 261 jobs.
