Alvernia College (Pa.) has received a $100,000 grant from the Hearst Foundation to support the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship is intended for nontraditional and minority students, especially Hispanic students pursuing degrees in nursing.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has awarded $50,000 grants to three California universities to fund scholarships. California State University-Northridge, the California Institute for the Arts and the University of California, Los Angeles all received the grants.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided an additional $58 million to expand the Gates Millennium Scholars program, which provides educational funding for low-income minority students. The program is a $1 billion initiative launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Negro College Fund.

The AT&T Foundation has awarded $1.5 million to support the activities of Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (Calif.), a nonprofit organization that works to increase the number of economically disadvantaged students pursuing degrees in one of the three disciplines.

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a five-year, $1.1 million “Talent Search” grant to Portland Community College (Ore.). The grant will allow the college to continue the Rock Creek Talent Search Program, which provides education services to 600 low-income and potential first-generation college students in the Beaverton and Forest Grove school districts.

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has received a $951,649 grant from the federal government to support the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. The program offers an alternative to the traditional doctoral degree. UMDNJ has also received a $815,702 federal grant to expand the Accelerated Second-Degree BSN/MSN program.