Texas Border Business
MCALLEN, TEXAS — Lumina Foundation in partnership with the Kresge Foundation has designated the Rio Grande Valley as a Talent Hub granting $275,000 to support local efforts to increase education beyond high school.
The Talent Hub designation indicates a community has shown the capacity and ability to significantly increase the numbers of residents with college degrees, certificates, or other credentials beyond a high school diploma.
South Texas College along with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, RGV FOCUS, and Texas Southmost College are postsecondary partners of the Talent Hub and will focus on increasing degree completion for students in the area.
Talent Hub cities focus on raising the nation’s overall post-high school attainment level to 60 percent of working-age adults by 2025: 18-to-22-year-olds students; older adults with college experience who stopped before finishing their studies, or adults with no formal education beyond high school.
South Texas College Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Matthew Hebbard says this designation will benefit the college’s effort in promoting higher education for all.
“The Talent Hub designation is a confirmation of what we have always known. Our students are the most talented and brightest students in the nation. They are our future leaders and are filled with hopes and dreams,” said Hebbard.
The funding is over a 31-month period and will support local endeavors to educate more people, allowing community and education leaders to meet with the needs of the region, all in part of the efforts made by Lumina and Kresge Foundations.
Lumina Foundation is an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all. The foundation envisions a system that is easy to navigate, delivers fair results, and meets the nation’s need for talent through a broad range of credentials. Lumina’s goal is to prepare people for informed citizenship and for success in a global economy.
The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924 to promote human progress. Today, Kresge fulfills that mission by building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. Using a full array of grant, loan, and other investment tools, Kresge invests more than $160 million annually to foster economic and social change.
South Texas College will utilize this opportunity to make an impact on a local level.
“With this national designation we are finally able to give our students the recognition they deserve and access a new level of support and resources,” said Hebbard. “These resources will be used to help them reach their dream of a college degree.”
