SPOTLIGHT: federal HSI cuts affect CVHEC members

“Why would this happen, especially when these funding programs have existed for decades and have a proven track record of success?” – Dr. Benjamin Duran, CVHEC executive director.

Fresno State, Central Valley colleges
lose federal grant for Hispanic students

 

BY MARINA PEÑA

Reprinted from The Fresno Bee – (Updated Sept. 23, 2025)

 

Central Valley colleges and universities will lose millions in federal funds under the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate a long-standing grant benefitting campuses with significant Hispanic student populations.

The decision, announced Sept. 10 by the U.S. Department of Education, affects funding for Fresno State, UC Merced and community colleges in Madera, Reedley, Clovis, Fresno and Merced.

The discontinued grants, for decades, awarded funding to colleges and universities deemed Hispanic-Serving Institutions and will heavily impact California, a Hispanic-majority state with the nation’s largest Hispanic student population.

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement that the grants were discriminatory for “restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.”

Higher education officials in the Central Valley said they were alarmed by the decision.

“My initial reaction was, ‘What’s going on?’ “ said Benjamin Duran, executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium. “Why would this happen, especially when these funding programs have existed for decades and have a proven track record of success? I just saw it as being racially motivated because they’re targeting institutions that serve predominantly Latino students, simply because they enroll at least 25% Latinos.”

Duran, a former president of Merced College, said 14 Central Valley community colleges that identify as Hispanic-Serving Institutions will take financials hits.

With nearly 60% of its student body identifying as Hispanic, Merced College was awarded a $2.75 million Developing Hispanic-Serving Institution (DHSI) grant in October 2022.

That grant funded student support services, professional development for faculty and counselors, and an increase in dual enrollment pathways to create opportunities for high school students to get a head start on college.

Merced College now faces the loss of about $1.1 million in funds for that grant, or approximately $550,000 per year for the final two years of the grant, according to a spokesperson for Merced College, which will lead to those programs and resources getting scaled back.

Duran said the funding is typically used to support all students through services like professional tutoring, counseling, computer labs, and increasing awareness of available programs and opportunities on campus. He noted that the funds are primarily invested in staffing rather than physical infrastructure or new buildings.

“For the Trump administration to come in, and in one fell swoop, with the Secretary of Education, who is not an educator herself, and cut this funding is devastating and surprising, to say the least,” he said.

Jason Bush, the interim associate vice president for research and sponsored programs a Fresno State, said the university is “still trying to understand the full impact of affected programs as it’s an evolving situation.”  But he said the programs most affected at the university include those focused on pursuing a master’s degree and expanding Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in criminal and civil justice professions, both supported by the U.S. Department of Education.

In July 2021, UC Merced received a $15 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the university’s status as a federally recognized Hispanic- Serving Institution (HSI). The grant increased faculty diversity and promoted equity in research and teaching.

A spokesperson for the University of California said the public university system “remains committed to expanding access and ensuring that students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to succeed.”

California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia said in a statement that federal HSI funding is used “to support all CSU students, not just Hispanic

She added that the CSU system is closely watching the U.S. Justice Department’s decision not to defend a federal law that underpins the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) grant program, as a legal challenge threatens its future.

She also highlighted the high stakes for CSU campuses, where nearly half of the 460,000 students identify as Latino. Garcia explained that HSIs play a crucial role in advancing economic mobility, particularly for students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds.

“The CSU remains firmly committed to ensuring that all of our students— especially our Latino students—have access to a high-quality, affordable education,” she said.

In California’s Central Valley, all four campuses within the State Center Community College District — Clovis, Fresno City, Madera, and Reedley — are designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and have secured millions in grant funding to enhance various programs for student support services.

Cris Monahan-Bremer, a spokesperson for Fresno City College said that the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees recently adopted a budget recently that “deliberately set aside (funds) to ensure continuity with these programs, knowing that federal support could shift.”

“Because of the district’s strong financial position and careful planning, we are prepared to navigate this challenge,” he said.

 

This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 5:30 AM.

Read more at: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article312133885.html#storylink=cpy

 

Marina Peña     The Fresno Bee     

Marina Peña is the Latino communities reporter for The Bee. She earned a bachelor’s in Political Economy and another one in Journalism from the University of Southern California. She’s originally from Buenos, Argentina, but grew up in Los Angeles.