Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, Alverno College Partnering on Scholarship Program

May 6, 2020

The Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee (HPGM) and Alverno College have partnered to launch a matching scholarship awards program that will support the education and retention of Hispanic students.

Current Alverno undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for the scholarship, as are students enrolling at Alverno for the first time. Recipients will be determined by HPGM's competitive scholarship process.

“These funds are critical for our students as Alverno continues to champion access to educational opportunities for all, which is integral to the success of the college, the region and the state,” said Kate Lundeen, vice president for Enrollment Services at Alverno. “We greatly admire the strategic work of HPGM and are thrilled to be aligned so closely with them.”

“Alverno College has been a long-time partner in our work to elevate Hispanic students,” said Kim Schultz, interim executive director at HPGM. “Regionally, we know that Hispanic students lag behind in college persistence and graduation. This matching program will help remove barriers to access and open doors for talented young people to become our future professional leaders.”

Alverno will provide up to $30,000 in total matching funds for undergraduate students per academic year. Undergraduate students are eligible when they attain junior-year standing. Two Alverno graduate students are eligible for a total of $5,000 each per academic year. Two newly enrolling students at Alverno are eligible for a total of $5,000 each per academic year.

Current Alverno students must be enrolled full time, be in good academic standing and maintain satisfactory academic progress. New students who are eligible must have gained acceptance into Alverno. The HPGM scholarship can be added to other Alverno scholarship and grants, but the combination can't exceed the college's annual tuition.

For more information, visit hpgm.org/scholarships.

The mission of HPGM is to connect and unite Hispanic professionals, students, and the community with rich heritage, strong leadership and impactful initiatives. HPGM offers scholarships to students pursuing graduate, undergraduate, and two-year degrees and partners with three other Milwaukee-area institutions for scholarship matching. Since 2004, HPGM has awarded nearly $600,000 to 139 Hispanic students throughout Wisconsin.

Alverno was designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) institution in 2017, after meeting the enrollment criteria established by the U.S. Department of Education. Alverno was Wisconsin's first higher educational institution to receive an HSI designation, which provides access to federal grants and scholarships to not-for-profit institutions that serve a significant population of Hispanic students. To be designated, 25 percent of an institution's total undergraduate full-time equivalent enrollment must be Hispanic. Alverno's total enrollment for fall 2019 was 25 percent Hispanic.