Indiana foundation will give $350K to Austin, 16 other U.S. ‘talent hubs’
Austin’s got talent, and the potential to develop a lot more. Hence, it comes perhaps as no surprise that it was named Monday as one of 17 “talent hubs.”
Each of those communities is getting $350,000 to help boost education and training beyond high school. Funding comes from the Indiana-based Lumina Foundation in partnership with the Michigan-based Kresge Foundation.
A coalition led by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce plans to focus on 70,000 college “stop-outs” — students who have temporarily withdrawn from school or delayed the pursuit of their education. The grant will bolster ongoing efforts to increase post-secondary achievement, said Gilbert Zavala, the chamber’s vice president of education and talent development.
Richard Rhodes, president and CEO of Austin Community College, said workforce needs are especially high in the fields of health care and information technology.
Lumina’s other talent hubs are Albuquerque, N.M.; Boston; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ind.; Dayton, Ohio; Denver; Fresno, Calif.; Los Angeles; Louisville, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn.; New York; Philadelphia; Racine, Wis.; Richmond, Va.; Shasta County, Calif.; and Tulsa, Okla.
“These communities are the creative and entrepreneurial engines that power our nation,” said Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of the Lumina Foundation.
The communities will target 18- to 22-year-old students, older adults with college experience who stopped before finishing their studies and adults with no formal education beyond high school. The talent hubs are committed to eliminating disparities in educational outcomes among African-Americans, Hispanics and American Indians compared with white and Asian students.