MEDIA ADVISORY: Eastern to announce partnership with Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut

Partnership to benefit CT Latinx students

Willimantic, CT (05/12/2022) — Eastern Connecticut State University will announce a new partnership on May 16 with the Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut. The historic partnership will offer scholarships to in-state students from Hispanic communities. Eastern is the first Connecticut state university to partner with the Alliance.

Members of the media are invited to attend the press conference and signing ceremony at 11 a.m. in Gelsi Young Hall's Connecticut Room (room 237). Eastern President Elsa M. Nunez and representatives of the Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut will give remarks.

For the past six years, Eastern has been a national leader in providing undocumented students with access to a college education through its partnership with TheDream.US foundation. In 2016, Eastern was one of two universities to pilot the privately funded foundation's "Opportunity Scholars" program, with many of the scholarship recipients being Latinx students.

Eastern is committed to serving members of minority communities, and that commitment is reflected in retention data. Over the past 10 years, the retention rate of Latino students at Eastern has averaged 76 percent, reflecting the 77 percent overall retention rate of all Eastern students in the most recent reporting years of 2020 and 2021.

Launched in 2000, The Hispanic Alliance Scholarship Fund has awarded more than 300 scholarships to students in Latino communities in the state. Eastern will join the alliance in providing scholarship support to Alliance scholars who attend Eastern. The university will also participate in the Alliance's BRILLA program, beginning in fall 2022, bringing two groups of Latina high school juniors to Eastern's campus to learn about the college experience at Connecticut's only public liberal arts university.

**Student comments available by request**

PRESS CONTACTS

Eastern Director of University Relations - Ed Osborn, 860-465-5043 or osborne@easternct.edu

Eastern Admissions Director - Raena Beetham, 860-465-4392 or beethamr@easternct.edu

Eastern Assistant Director of Admissions -- Sierra Colon, 860-465-5776 or colons@easternct.edu

Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut - 860-941-9421 or info@hispanicalliancesect.org