November 14, 2017 – In Colorado’s Grand Valley, Colorado Mesa University is planning a unique partnership with the City of Grand Junction, whereby the city will directly fund scholarships for CMU students with taxpayer dollars. The idea behind the support is that providing students with scholarships helps increase college attendance, which in turn will create a more educated workforce – a key component to future economic prosperity in the region. Here’s more from The Daily Sentinel:
“The city of Grand Junction’s recent head nod to provide up to $500,000* to Colorado Mesa University next year for scholarship money for local students did more than reaffirm a commitment of taxpayer money to the growing institution that dates back 15 years.
More broadly, it cemented a partnership unlike any between a municipality and a public university in Colorado.
While cities and towns around the state have forged pacts with their universities that allow them to share infrastructure or split costs — as Grand Junction and CMU have — the notion of a city writing a check drawn on the taxpayers’ account to help pay for young people’s education is a novel concept outside the Grand Valley.
The Daily Sentinel polled 10 other Colorado cities about the degree to which they support — financially or otherwise — the colleges and universities. None use public dollars for scholarship money or otherwise directly financially back their respective institutions…”
Get the whole story here.
*The City of Grand Junction has clarified that City Council directed staff to put $250,000 toward this line item in 2018.
Photo courtesy Colorado Mesa University.
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