Last month, Castleton University was awarded a Title III grant for $2.25 million by the United States Department of Education.

The grant falls under the Strengthening Institutions Program. This program is in place to help colleges expand their resources, increase student success and address student’s needs.

Of schools that apply for this grant, less than 1% receive it and it requires a perfect score on the application to even be considered for the grant.

“The goal of the grant is to increase retention from first to second year and increase student graduation rates,” said Provost Thomas Mauhs-Pugh.

The college is looking to invest in creating a digital learning common, providing additional resources for institutional research and upgrading classroom technology and infrastructure.

“A big amount of the money will go towards upgrading classroom technology. We know that the technology in Leavenworth needs a lot of work,” Mauhs-Pugh said with a chuckle.

Matthew Moriarity, one of the lead writers of the grant, also spoke about the technological improvements the grant will provide.

“Several classrooms will also receive more substantial and targeted technology upgrades that will permit advanced training and innovative teaching methods,” he said.

The grant also allows the college to hire a director of retention, who looks at problems students face becoming a college student and finds ways to correct them to increase the number of students who come back to Castleton University.

“You should think about the Title III in strategic terms.  Overall, it will supplement and reinforce existing supports that will help Castleton students finish on schedule and better prepared for the workplace,” Moriarty said.

  The grants funds will be given over the course of five years. So, the college will receive $449,083 annually.

“I would just like to shout out the team of Kelley Beckwith, Chris Boettcher, Jody Condon, Matthew Moriarty, and Amanda Richardson under the supervision of Dean Jonathan Spiro, for all their hard work on writing this grant for the university,” President Karen Scolforo said.