HBCUs to Get
$2.1 Million from
Human Services Agency

WASHINGTON — Black colleges and universities will get a share of more than $20 million in new federal funding to help improve the economic outlook of low-income neighborhoods nationwide, officials here say.
At least $2.1 million in the Urban and Rural Community Economic Development program will go to historically Black colleges and universities for partnerships, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials.
Job creation, neighborhood revitalization and better coordination of existing services are among the main goals of the competitive grant program, announced late last month. Department officials say they will place a high priority on innovative approaches to create jobs.
The HBCU grant program likely will consist of six grants at $350,000 each, department officials say. The closing date for applications is Nov. 15. Grant proposals should be sent to: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Grants Management-OCSE, 4th Floor West, Aerospace Center, 370 L'Enfant Promenade S.W., Washington, D.C., 20447, Attn: Discretionary Grants Program.
For more information, visit the department's Web site at <www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ocs> or call (202) 401-9354.

Asian American   Named to Office of
Bilingual Education

WASHINGTON — Changes are underway in the U.S. Department of Education's office of bilingual education.
Long-time director Delia Pompa has announced plans to leave as director of the office, a post she has held for four years. Pompa won praise from U.S. Education Sec. Richard W. Riley and others for her work to reduce Hispanic dropout rates and oppose efforts to limit or eliminate bilingual education services.
At the same time, Riley appointed a new deputy director of the office, Buoy Te. Te escaped the killing fields of Cambodia in the 1970s during the Khmer Rouge's reign over the Southeast Asian country.
He worked as a bilingual teacher in Minneapolis after fleeing Cambodia, and also served in the second-highest-ranking job at the National Coalition of Advocates for Students, a national network of 23 child advocacy organizations.
The department's bilingual education and minority languages affairs office works with school districts to help them provide equal educational opportunity to students with limited English skills.