BNY MELLON AWARDS $1 MILLION GRANT TO CUNY
Grant Funds Scholarships for STEM, Finance Students in CUNY Senior Colleges
The BNY Mellon Foundation has awarded a $1 million grant to The City University of New York to provide financial support to high-achieving, low-income students and help raise graduation rates for recipients.
The three-year grant will provide financial support to 330 juniors and seniors who are on track to earn baccalaureate degrees in either a STEM or finance-related field at a CUNY senior college. Those selected will be designated BNY Mellon Foundation Scholars.
The grant requires recipients to be graduates of CUNY community colleges who have completed the University’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP). The nationally acclaimed program provides mostly low-income community college students with a range of academic, financial and personal supports to help them earn their associate degrees. The BNY Mellon Foundation Transfer Scholarship also requires recipients to be on course to earn their bachelor’s degrees within two years.
“We are grateful to the BNY Mellon Foundation for this generous and groundbreaking gift, which will help hundreds of CUNY students complete their degrees,” said Interim Chancellor Vita C. Rabinowitz. “It is of great significance that the grant was conceived as a link to CUNY’s pioneering ASAP program. The BNY Mellon Foundation Transfer scholarships will be both a reward to deserving students and an incentive for them to keep going. We’re optimistic the scholarships will increase the number of students who complete ASAP and go on to earn baccalaureate degrees.”
BNY Mellon Foundation Scholars will receive scholarships for each academic year to defray the costs of tuition, books and fees. The grant is the largest commitment the foundation has made to support a noncapital campaign. It is also the first grant BNY Mellon has awarded to CUNY; the foundation has previously made smaller direct gifts to individual CUNY colleges.
“This scholarship program is a first for the BNY Mellon Foundation and we’re honored to embark on this partnership with CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university,” said Daisey Holmes, president of the BNY Mellon Foundation. “What makes this scholarship special is its focus on reducing the barriers to graduation for students who have already faced hurdles in life and demonstrated resiliency and a drive to succeed academically. The grant was enthusiastically approved by the BNY Mellon Foundation Trustees, and we’re proud to team with CUNY to help these students get to their finish line.”
The City University of New York is the nation’s leading urban public university. Founded in 1847, CUNY counts 13 Nobel Prize and 24 MacArthur (“Genius”) grant winners among its alumni. CUNY students, alumni and faculty have garnered scores of other prestigious honors over the years in recognition of historic contributions to the advancement of the sciences, business, the arts and myriad other fields. The University comprises 25 institutions: 11 senior colleges, seven community colleges, William E. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, CUNY Graduate Center, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, CUNY School of Law, CUNY School of Professional Studies and CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. The University serves more than 275,000 degree-seeking students. CUNY offers online baccalaureate and master’s degrees through the School of Professional Studies.