Our Lady of the Lake University Receives $3M to Improve Postgraduate Programs for Hispanic Students

Dr. Diane Melby

The United States Department of Education gifted $3 million to Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) to establish a postgraduate program aimed to help Hispanic students.

Post-baccalaureate Opportunities Dedicated to Equity and Retention (PODER) project will focus on improving graduate student facilities and services on OLLU’s three campuses of San Antonio, Houston and the Rio Grande Valley, according to the university.

The grant would go towards developing a Master’s of Arts in Teaching, updating classrooms on all of OLLU’s campuses and creating a graduate student center.

“We are excited to provide more post-baccalaureate opportunities for students on all three of our campuses,” said OLLU President Dr. Diane Melby. “Of the 1,730 graduate students enrolled in fall 2018, 45 percent were Latinx and 40 percent were first generation. This grant will enable our students to serve and improve communities facing great need.”