2008 Woodie Awards
Grant money goes toward worthy cause
Staff editorial
Issue date: 1/25/08 Section: Staff Reflections
It's no secret that there is a gap between the Greeley community and the University of Northern Colorado, but at least one university employee is doing his best to change that.
Eric Rennaker is the director of the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center and has brought a $1 million grant to UNC. The money will go toward the Upward Bound Program, which will allow low income and first generation high school students from Greeley Central High School to attend summer courses at UNC.
We would like to first of all commend Rennaker for working so hard to bring this money to UNC and to the Greeley community. Hopefully, these Greeley Central students will enjoy their time at UNC and be encouraged to pursue a degree. Anything UNC can do to tap into the resources Greeley has to offer is certainly a positive.
Rennaker is also bringing a program to UNC that has a proven track record. Rennaker himself is the product of a similar program in Denver and there are undoubtedly hundreds more like him.
The next step for the university should be to find a solution to keeping students at UNC once they arrive - particularly minority students. Schools in Denver, such as Metro State or CU Denver, are often times much more attractive to minority students for a number of reasons. UNC needs to do what it can to make the university more attractive to minority students if they hope to see the products of the Upward Bound Program graduate from UNC.
It's no secret UNC has a retention problem, and it's not just minority students leaving the university. It will be interesting to see if anyone will emerge as a leader on the front to keep UNC's students at UNC.
Eric Rennaker is the director of the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center and has brought a $1 million grant to UNC. The money will go toward the Upward Bound Program, which will allow low income and first generation high school students from Greeley Central High School to attend summer courses at UNC.
We would like to first of all commend Rennaker for working so hard to bring this money to UNC and to the Greeley community. Hopefully, these Greeley Central students will enjoy their time at UNC and be encouraged to pursue a degree. Anything UNC can do to tap into the resources Greeley has to offer is certainly a positive.
Rennaker is also bringing a program to UNC that has a proven track record. Rennaker himself is the product of a similar program in Denver and there are undoubtedly hundreds more like him.
The next step for the university should be to find a solution to keeping students at UNC once they arrive - particularly minority students. Schools in Denver, such as Metro State or CU Denver, are often times much more attractive to minority students for a number of reasons. UNC needs to do what it can to make the university more attractive to minority students if they hope to see the products of the Upward Bound Program graduate from UNC.
It's no secret UNC has a retention problem, and it's not just minority students leaving the university. It will be interesting to see if anyone will emerge as a leader on the front to keep UNC's students at UNC.
Be the first to comment on this story