October

Lumina Foundation designates Denver as Talent Hub

Nearly $6 million in grants will support local efforts nationwide to increase attainment beyond high school.

October 19, 2017

The Lumina Foundation has announced Denver as one of 17 cities across the country designated as a Talent Hub — and MSU Denver will play a starring role.

Denver earned the designation for creating an environment that attracts, retains and cultivates talent — particularly among people of color, first-generation students and low-income students.

“We are delighted to be a part of this Lumina Foundation grant,” said Sandra Haynes, deputy provost. “Our involvement in this project will help us meet our mission and our goals for student success as well as better serve students from across the Denver metropolitan area.”

The Denver Talent Hub will focus on 18- to 22-year-old students — one of three populations Lumina has identified as critical to raising the nation’s overall post-high-school attainment level to 60 percent of working-age adults by 2025. Each city designated as a Talent Hub will receive grant funding over 42 months. Lumina will provide these funds in partnership with the Kresge Foundation.

Talent Hub cities are committed to eliminating disparities in educational outcomes and leading institutional change that supports students in achieving postsecondary educational goals for African-American, Latino and low-income populations.

The Talent Hub initiative will be led by the Denver Education Attainment Network. Since 2014, DEAN and its partners – MSU Denver, Denver Public Schools, Community College of Denver, University of Colorado Denver, Emily Griffith Technical College, the City and County of Denver, corporate partners and student- and equity-focused nonprofits – have worked to support increased degree attainment for Denver students.

The Talent Hub collaboration will be known as Denver Direct Pathways, which is designed to increase attainment rates for all Denver students and improve outcomes for underserved minority and low-income populations.

“The work we do with DEAN will help provide students clear and multiple pathways from high school to a four-year degree,” Haynes said. “Denver Direct Pathways will help increase degree completion while decreasing time to degree.”