Alexander Hernandez
Staff Writer
In September the U.S. Department of Education canceled two federal grants the University of La Verne had used for programs to help students with academic, professional and personal development.
The Holistic and Inclusive Practices for Student Success program ended abruptly last month as a result, causing the loss of valuable student resources and jobs at the University of La Verne.
Program staff members were also laid off, including associate director Tiffany Garcia, administrative assistant Alexzandra Jimenez and first-year experience coordinator Sherly Aviles-Morgado.
The cancellation was part of President Donald Trump’s broader agenda to defund programs considered to support organizations and institutions that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
The program here offered peer mentoring and professional and academic workshops; and it provided year-to-year academic roadmaps for students, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, subjects.
At the start of the 2021-2022 academic year, the University was awarded a one-time Hispanic-Serving Institution STEM program grant in the amount of $999,901. The grant helped fund the Holistic and Inclusive Practices for Student Success program.
The University, as a designated Hispanic Serving Institution, with more than 50% of students identifying as Hispanic or Latino, had received these funds from the federal government for programs to support this population.
The grants fell under Title III and Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which provided federal grants to institutions specifically because of their high-minority populations.
The grant was anticipated to last for five years, concluding at the end of the current 2025-2026 academic year.
In January 2025, the University informed faculty members that they would not be pursuing a renewal after the initial five year period.
The resources and programs were designed and planned to last for five full years.
Rick Hasse, professor of accounting and finance, shed some light on this timeline. Hasse said that despite which way the current presidential administration was leaning, the funds would be terminated after the five year period.
“The departments of Title III and Title V were informed that the funding would be running out this year,” Hasse said. ”No matter what happened with the Trump administration, the particular grants that we had were being ended.”
But in September the University received a notice from the Department of Education that grants under Title III and Title V would end immediately.
Aracely Gutiérrez, director of the Title III Hispanic Serving Institution STEM grant, was in communication with the Department of Education. She said Education Department officials cited a specific line in their initial application five years ago that the Trump Administration deemed unconstitutional.
“What they quoted was around the work we’re doing with professional development for faculty that focused on culturally relevant work, pedagogy, and the classroom,” Gutiérrez said. “They stated that that type of work is discriminatory and therefore funding would be cut.”
Gutiérrez said that the grant and Department of Education allow for up to 120 days of wrap-up for logistical reasons. She will stay employed until the end of December, then her staff and team will be out of a job.
“My staff will be eliminated,” Gutiérrez said. “They’ve been imperative to the success of the work and to the success of our students.”
Daniel Loera, director of multicultural affairs, hopes the University will continue to live up to its Hispanic-Serving Institution title and find a way to cover the loss of funding and services such as the peer mentoring, individualized support from grant staff, textbook assistance; and professional development opportunities that include guest speakers from various STEM fields.
“We have to do everything we can to provide that level of service, with or without those federal grants, which is then our challenge as an institution,” Loera said.
Students who benefitted from the services funded by the federal grants were also caught off guard by the news. They said these services were so important for their success.
Junior biology major Jim-Nasser Shin said that the STEM programs funded by the federal grants help him to boost his GPA and his morale in the journey to his degree, following a life-threatening challenge.
Shin took part in the Holistic and Inclusive Practices for Student Success program after being involved in an off-campus shooting during his freshman year.
“I was in a drive-by shooting in Pomona and there’s no way I would’ve been able to pick myself up from a situation like that,” Shin said.
Shin said the extra support via this program was pivotal for him getting back on track.
“Ever since I joined, I’ve raised my GPA, it skyrocked,because all the classes I had to retake, I retook them. I got A’s,” Shin said.
University Provost Ken O’Donnell addressed the issue during the Oct. 6 Faculty Senate meeting. He told senators and attendees that University officials are working to see if these services can continue to be offered to students following the loss of the federal grants.
“We are scrambling to figure out how to use other resources on campus to keep the valuable work going,” O’Donnell told senators. “We are also evaluating data from that set of projects to see what seemed to be working and what should be prioritized as we figure out what we can keep.”
O’Donnell also acknowledged the grant programs’ success in a Sept. 24 email to the University community.
“The faculty and staff paid from these funds worked hard to make the most of the opportunity, driving our recognized success with upward mobility – for all students, including those from historically underserved communities,” O’Donnell said in the Sept. 24 email. “All of us are deeply disappointed to see the funding abruptly terminated.”
O’Donnell declined the Campus Times’s request for an interview.
Alexander Hernandez can be reached at alexander.hernandez3@laverne.edu.
Alexander Hernandez is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations, and a staff writer for the Campus Times.
