UH Hilo to receive $9 million from American Rescue Plan to 'help secure the future of these schools'

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Rep. Ed Case (right) | Facebook

Hawaii has been granted $97 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds for higher education, U.S. Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) announced.

"Our American Rescue Plan is delivering almost $100 million in federal assistance to Hawai’i higher education to help our universities and colleges and their students through COVID-19," Case said on Facebook.

The grants are part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in March, Case said.

The legislation provided $36 billion for nearly 3,500 public and private universities to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the congressman said.

“At least half of the funding each school receives will be distributed in the form of emergency cash assistance grants to students who are facing hunger, homelessness and other hardship,” Case said in a statement. “While schools of higher education are struggling to balance their budgets while also continuing to meet the needs of their students, the funding provided to these institutions from the American Rescue Plan is an investment that will help secure the future of these schools and, at the same time, provide for struggling students with urgent relief that will help them stay on track and complete their education.”

The University of Hawaii at Manoa will receive $31 million from the funding package and the University of Hawaii at Hilo $9 million, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Kapiolani Community College has been allocated $7.6 million.

Other schools in the first congregational district that received funding include Chaminade University at $4.6 million, Leeward Community College $8.1 million, Pacific Rim Christian University $467,480 and Hawaii Pacific University at $6.1 million.

Schools in the second congressional district that are receiving funding include Brigham Young University, University of Hawaii – Maui College and Windward Community College.

Case advised students to contact administrators for more information about how they can apply for emergency grants.

A complete list of schools funded under the plan can be found here.