San Diego Mesa College wins a $2.5 million federal grant

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – San Diego Mesa College announced Monday that it won a $2.6 million, five-year federal grant to assist Hispanics who are first-generation, low-income students.

Mesa and Southwestern College in Chula Vista were two of only 20 colleges and universities around the country to win the grants from the U.S. Department of Education.

“Our student population mirrors that of the greater San Diego area, and as such our commitment to our growing population of Latino students is critical,” said Pamela Luster, president of Mesa College. “Their success is our success, and as educated citizens our students contribute to greater economic advances for our community and the region.”

Latinos make up nearly one-third of the Mesa 25,000-member student body, following substantial increases in recent years, according to the college.

The amount of the grant awarded to Southwestern College, where 53 percent of the nearly 20,000 students are Latino, was not immediately available.