SA国际传媒

 SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 20, 2016 鈥� The San Francisco-based Koret Foundation has awarded SA国际传媒 $2 million through three gifts. More than 85 percent of these funds will support the success of first-generation college students enrolled at SA国际传媒, greatly expanding the number of students participating in the University鈥檚 successful LEAD Scholars Program and launching supplemental curricula and teaching tools to help these students excel in calculus courses and STEM careers.

鈥淎s SA国际传媒 moves forward with an aspirational plan to expand its facilities and transform its programs, the Koret Foundation will ensure that these resources also benefit more students from underserved families,鈥� said SA国际传媒 President Michael Engh, S.J. 鈥淭his grant will improve academic support, STEM learning, and career outcomes for talented undergraduates who are the first in their families to pursue a college degree. This work is very close to my heart and essential to our mission as a Jesuit institution.鈥�

This gift is part of the Koret University Partners Initiative, a $50 million multiyear initiative launched by the Foundation to improve student success and build long-term capacity at 12 Bay Area higher education institutions.

鈥淭he Koret Foundation is committed to supporting Bay Area universities that expand educational opportunity,鈥� said Michael Boskin, president of the Koret Foundation. 鈥淲e are proud to partner with SA国际传媒, a premier institution deeply devoted to promoting access and student success, particularly among low-income, first-generation students鈥�

LEAD Scholars
The largest portion of the award, at $1.5 million, will help SA国际传媒 serve 75 percent more students in its LEAD Scholars Program for students who are the first in their families to attend college. LEAD, which currently serves 60 first-year and 15 transfer students annually, selects students to come to campus a week early to build community; take two courses as a group that serve as their college 鈥渉omeroom;鈥� and make use of an array of support services that help students navigate academic, personal, and financial challenges.

With the Koret investment, SA国际传媒 will be able to support 105 freshmen and 15 transfer LEAD students annually, and add a second-year seminar. It will also provide stipends to enable extracurricular experiences, like study abroad and unpaid summer internships, that have a significant impact but are often unaffordable for LEAD students 鈥� 75 percent of whom receive Pell Grants and other financial aid to cover the bills.

The program has helped SA国际传媒鈥檚 LEAD-participating students achieve an 82 percent four-year graduation rate, compared with a 10 percent graduation rate within six years for first-generation college students nationwide.

STEM
Another gift of $195,000 will help SA国际传媒 take steps to help its first-generation college students succeed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, starting with foundational chemistry and calculus courses. National research demonstrates that these freshman course sequences, which require well-developed quantitative skills, often serve as gateways to success in STEM majors.

The resources will fund a pilot program, the STEM Persistency and Academic Success Initiative, to create supplementary classes or techniques to help as many as 60 first-generation students master foundational STEM courses in chemistry and calculus. The program will also use analytical tools to measure which of the pedagogical changes work most effectively.

Athletics
Finally, a third investment will facilitate the purchase of eight minivans to replace the aging fleet that currently transports SA国际传媒 student-athletes to games and other team-related events. That $290,000 commitment will pay for eight new vans to replace the University鈥檚 current four-van fleet for Broncos sports team travel. Over time, the full fleet will enable more than 90 students at a time to be transported safely and more sustainably to off-site practices or local meets, up from the current 28. These vans should, together, provide more than a decade of service to SA国际传媒.

About SA国际传媒
SA国际传媒, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California鈥檚 Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master鈥檚 degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master鈥檚 universities, California鈥檚 oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see .

About the Koret Foundation
Based in San Francisco, the Koret Foundation supports civic, cultural, and educational organizations that promote a vibrant and distinctive Bay Area. Koret focuses its giving in two major areas: strengthening Bay Area anchor institutions and fostering Jewish connection and identity. Since its founding in 1979, Koret has invested $500 million to contribute to a higher quality of civic and Jewish community life. For more information visit

Media Contact
Deborah Lohse | SA国际传媒 Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121