HIGHER EDUCATION CONSORTIUM FOR URBAN AFFAIRS INC

SERVED 29 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN SEMESTER ACADEMIC PROGRAMS FROM REPRESENTATIVE SCHOOLS OF THE CONSORTIUM COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. PROVIDED ALL OF THESE STUDENTS WITH INTERNSHIPS FOCUSING ON SUBSTANTIVE SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER GROWTH IN THE FIELDS OF PUBLIC POLICY, ADVOCACY, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. CONDUCTED 5 EXPERIENTIAL, INTERDISCIPLINARY, COMMUNITY-BASED OFF-CAMPUS PROGRAMS DURING THE FALL SEMESTER IN THE UNITED STATES, NORTHERN IRELAND, AND ITALY. EACH WAS OPEN TO QUALIFIED STUDENTS FROM HECUA'S 26 MEMBER INSTITUTIONS AS WELL AS NON-MEMBER INSTITUTIONS NATIONWIDE. HECUA'S SEMESTER-LONG PROGRAMS IN THE TWIN CITIES USE THE METROPOLITAN LANDSCAPE AS A BACKDROP FOR EXPLORING PRESSING ISSUES IN STUDENTS' HOME COMMUNITIES: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, ECONOMIC DISPARITIES, PUBLIC AND PROTEST ART, AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO TOOLS OF MEDIA PRODUCTION. THE INTEGRATION OF RESPECTED COMMUNITY FACULTY MEMBERS IN TWIN CITIES' PROGRAMS OFFERS STUDENTS AN ON-THE-GROUND PERSPECTIVE OF THE WORK BEING DONE IN THEIR FIELD OF STUDY. EACH PROGRAM IS CAREFULLY CRAFTED TO INCORPORATE CURRENT EVENTS, RELEVANT THEORY, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRACTICAL SKILL ACQUISITION. HECUA OFFERS STUDENTS UNABLE TO SPEND A FULL SEMESTER OFF CAMPUS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE IN HIGH-IMPACT EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THROUGH SHORT- TERM PROGRAMS. THE SUMMER TERM U.S.-BASED PROGRAM RACE IN AMERICA CUSTOMARILY TAKES STUDENTS ON A BUS TOUR OF SOUTHERN STATES THAT FIGURED PROMINENTLY IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, BUT IN 2021 WAS OFFERED IN THE TWIN CITIES INSTEAD DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. RACE IN AMERICA: TWIN CITIES RISE UP FOCUSED ON MINNESOTA'S UNIQUE HISTORY IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (AS THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT AND HUB FOR THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY) AS WELL AS RECENT CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVITIES INCLUDING THE UPRISING SURROUNDING THE POLICE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD. HECUA SUSTAINED TUITION ASSISTANCE GRANTS FOR STUDENTS COMING FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA'S FEDERAL TRIO PROGRAM. TRIO SERVES HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS IN U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION, ESPECIALLY LOW- INCOME AND FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS. BECAUSE LOW-INCOME AND FIRST- GENERATION STUDENTS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY PEOPLE OF COLOR, THESE GRANTS JOIN THE "SCHOLARSHIPS FOR RACIAL JUSTICE" AS ONE OF HECUA'S CONCRETE COMMITMENTS TO BEING AN ANTIRACIST ORGANIZATION. DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, HECUA WAS UNABLE TO RUN MANY PROGRAMS IN 2021-2022. OUR US PROGRAMS WERE OFFERED IN HYBRID FORMAT, BOTH VIRTUALLY AND IN PERSON WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING AND CONTACT TRACING SYSTEMS IN PLACE.