KU receives first TRIO Training Program grant


LAWRENCE – After receiving a perfect score on the grant application, the University of Kansas Center for Educational Opportunity Programs (CEOP) has been awarded a TRIO Training Program for Priority 2 (KU TTP2), the first of its kind in KU history.

The two-year grant will provide professional development on budget management and the statutory and regulatory requirements for the operation of projects funded under the Federal TRIO Programs for 480 TRIO professionals.

KU TTP2 will leverage a two-prong approach to create a dual capacity-building framework to empower TRIO professionals and institution/agency teams from across the country to fully understand and successfully operate their TRIO grants.

Ngondi Kamaṱuka, director of CEOPThe U.S. Department of Education has established eight different types of TRIO programs that assist students and learners of all age to overcome economic, social, academic and cultural barriers to higher education. Within KU’s Achievement & Assessment Institute, Ngondi Kamaṱuka is the director of CEOP, which houses each type of TRIO Program: TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers, TRIO McNair Scholars Program, TRIO Supportive Educational Services & STEM, TRIO Talent Search, TRIO Upward Bound, TRIO Upward Bound Math-Science and TRIO Veterans Upward Bound.

“For 50 years, KU’s multiple TRIO programs have helped thousands of students explore college opportunities and receive comprehensive support on their path to earning a degree,” Kamaṱuka said. “Now, with a TRIO training grant, the CEOP legacy expands to create a space for TRIO professionals to become learners and improve their own programs.”

Across the two years of the KU TTP2 grant, CEOP will facilitate four in-person trainings where TRIO professionals can expand their professional support networks, as well as six virtual trainings that will allow TRIO programs to bring their systems teams into the professional development.

This highly competitive grant for $595,202 expands KU’s legacy of being a leader on the national TRIO stage. It is rare to find a university that houses all types of TRIO programs, and the awarding of this grant will allow KU to be among the few.

“We are honored to be one of the two universities selected to receive a TRIO Training grant for Priority 2. It speaks volumes to the decades of experience KU has facilitating TRIO programs,” Kamaṱuka said. “No matter what TRIO program you are, or what state you are in, KU TTP2 looks forward to helping strengthen your program and, in turn, improve educational equity at the national level.”

Tue, 10/11/2022

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Laura Kingston

Media Contacts

Laura Kingston

Center for Educational Opportunity Programs

785-864-3415