Lehigh Carbon Community College is one of only 15 community colleges in the United States to receive a grant from the University of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center that will help to advance the college’s efforts to reduce barriers that Hispanic male students face.

The college has received $75,000 for the project “Takeoff Initiative – College Men of Color.” The project is funded by the Educational Credit Management Corporation Foundation.

Said LCCC president Dr. Ann D. Bieber: “This grant specifically will allow us to add a number of initiatives that can directly impact the success of our male Hispanic students.”

In the past five years, Hispanic enrollment at LCCC increased by 18 percent and, in 2019, the college was recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) by the United States Department of Education. There are 28 percent of LCCC students who are Hispanic-Latino.