Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Pledges $300,000 Over Three Years to American Indian College Fund for Tribal College Faculty Fellowships in STEM Fields

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Sep 09, 2011, 12:49 ET

DENVER, Sept. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has announced it is granting $300,000 over the next three years to the American Indian College Fund (the Fund) for expansion of the Sloan STEM Leadership Fellowship Program. The purpose of the grant is to provide funding to tribal college faculty currently pursuing masters or doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in order to enhance the educational atmosphere at the tribal colleges.

The Fund will award two fellowships per year over the course of the three-year period for a total of six fellowships.

Richard B. Williams, American Indian College Fund President and CEO, said, "The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's renewed commitment to Native success in the STEM fields and well-educated faculty at our tribal colleges is vital for the development of Indian Country and the United States as a whole. As we seek as a nation to become more competitive, it is imperative that our youth are educated in these fields. This generous gift from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will help us achieve this goal while also creating hope in American Indian communities."

"Completion of a graduate degree is a key step in faculty development," said Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program Director Elizabeth S. Boylan. "The Foundation is excited to partner with the American Indian College Fund in its important efforts to support promising STEM faculty at tribal colleges, efforts that will, in turn, provide benefits to both the faculty and their students."

About the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of the General Motors Corporation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic, not-for-profit grant making institution that supports original research and broad-based education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economic performance. www.sloan.org.

About the American Indian College Fund
With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," the Denver-based American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest provider of private scholarships for American Indian students, providing more than 6,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education at the nation's 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities. For more information about the American Indian College Fund or to make a donation, visit www.collegefund.org.

SOURCE American Indian College Fund