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������’s Utica Campus has been awarded an additional $1.3 million for a fifth Upward Bound program from the U.S. Department of Education as part of their second round of funding. The grant will target 60 students in grades 9-12 at three Jackson high schools, Jim Hill, Lanier and Provine.

“This has really been an exciting year for the Utica Campus as it relates to seeking and being awarded external funding to fully engage in outreach opportunities to the surrounding communities,” said Dr. Mitchell Shears, executive director of Title III and Sponsored Grants.

Upward Bound provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance. The program provides opportunities for participants to succeed in their pre-college performance and ultimately in their higher education pursuits. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education.

“As a product of the Utica Campus Upward program, I am very knowledgeable about the impact the program can and will have on the students we will serve,” Shears said. “Our goal will be to provide intense support to them through an after-school tutorial program and to motivate them to enroll in college by providing a six-week summer component on the Utica Campus.”

Earlier this year, the campus was awarded more than $5.1 million for programs to serve students at Crystal Springs, Hazlehurst, Raymond, Terry, Vicksburg, Warren Central, Forest Hill and Wingfield. Together, the programs will serve a minimum of 300 participants who are from low-income families, potential first-generation college students and/or individuals who have a high risk for academic failure. The programs will consist of an academic year component and a 6-week summer component that will provide academic instruction in mathematics, laboratory sciences, composition, literature, foreign languages and other educational and cultural experiences.

[tweetable alt=””]������ Utica Campus receives additional Upward Bound funds.[/tweetable]

������ is celebrating its 100^th year of Community Inspired Service in 2017. Hinds opened in September 1917 first as an agricultural high school and admitted college students for the first time in 1922, with the first class graduating in 1927. In 1982 Hinds Junior College and Utica Junior College merged, creating the ������ District. Today, as Mississippi’s largest community college, ������ is a comprehensive institution with six locations. Hinds offers quality, affordable educational opportunities with academic programs of study leading to seamless university transfer and career and technical programs teaching job-ready skills. To learn more, visit or call 1.800.HindsCC.