OU President David Boren has agreed to bridge fund Project Threshold at the university after the federal government decided not to renew the grant normally used to fund the program, said Jabar Shumate, the vice president for the university community.
Shumate told The Daily and students at a meeting Sept. 16 that the government decided not to renew the grant.
"It was the federal government that decided not to renew the grant," he said. "We applied for it, and last year we were notified that they decided not to renew it, even though Project Threshold at OU is one of the longest running programs and one of the biggest programs in the nation of its kind."
According to the Project Threshold web page, the program, started at OU in 1970, is dedicated to giving students who are first generation, economically disadvantaged or disabled a equal chance at graduating and obtaining a degree. The website also says the U.S. Department of Education had funded the program since 1971.
Student representatives from different organizations on campus came to the Sept. 16 meeting, including the Student Government Association and the Brown Collective. Many of these students were also present at Shumate's "State of the Community" forum Sept. 15, where the government's decision not to renew the grant was also discussed.
“I think it was because of (the students) and our conversations (at the forum) that we began to talk about what is going on with Project Threshold and where we stand," Shumate said. "That’s hopefully what these forums will be, us being able to talk about big issues, getting them out in the open and then onto the desk of the president."
When Shumate was asked if the bridge funding will be the same amount as the federal government previously granted the program, he said the university has faced its own budget cuts, but it will do whatever it can.
"We will definitely see what we can do,” Shumate said. “But I will tell you this, every dollar that is needed to keep every essence of this program available to support students will be here. It might be a little less than they are receiving now, but they will have everything they need to keep this program running.”
After the meeting in Evans Hall, Shumate took the students to Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall, where Project Threshold is officed, to give them a firsthand look at what the program does for students.
"As most of you were made aware of last night, this will be our last year of federal funding," said Deborah Binkley-Jackson, the director of Project Threshold at OU. "But hopefully, as you all learned, (Boren) has graciously decided to fund the program until we can write the grant again."
Binkley-Jackson said the grants for Project Threshold to receive federal funding are written every four years for a five-year funding span. So the next year that the program will be eligible to apply for federal funding is 2019, she said. The program was previously receiving more than $400,000 from the government to maintain its tutoring services, computer lab, kitchen area and staff members who act as counselors, advisers and mentors.
“It takes quite a bit to manage at the same level that we were at, but there are definitely services that won’t go away,” Binkley-Jackson said. “Our tutoring won’t go away, I certainly don’t see the care that our advisers are able to show and maintain for the students ever going away. Those are things that money can’t touch."
Crystal Perkins-Carter, the assistant director of OU's Project Threshold, said the program has seen recent success. She said the percentage of students involved in the program who reach graduation has risen to 99 or 100 percent within the last five years.
Marketing sophomore Jessie Pallares, who attended the meetings in both Evans and Wagner Halls, said he is glad the university found funding to keep the program alive.
“I’m glad that the university was able to resolve this,” Pallares said. “Just last night someone said, 'Hey guys, do you know a good tutor? I’m really in need of one, I’ve tried everything.' And someone said, 'Yeah, Threshold has really good tutoring.'"
“I think it’s important to note also that this is not a program that is race or ethnicity based,” Binkley-Jackson said. “It targets students who are first generation, economically disadvantaged and/or disabled. That doesn’t have a skin color, that doesn't have a gender, that doesn't have an orientation. This is a program for students, any students who meets those needs.”
