Steven Holt: “I rise today to honor the United Negro College Fund on its 60th anniversary of assistance in higher education. The…”

“I rise today to honor the United Negro College Fund on its 60th anniversary of assistance in higher education. The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) was founded upon a mission to improve the quality of education through the provision of financial aid to deserving students, raising operation funds to assist member institutions, and increasing access to technology at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Throughout the past six decades, the UNCF has raised over $2 billion, allowing the Fund to help over 300,000 students receive a higher education, thus designating the Fund as the largest contributor of funding, aside from the government, to help minorities attend school. Today, the UNCF extends operational support through technological enhancement and financial assistance to 38 member colleges and universities, allowing these schools to maintain a tuition level 54 percent lower than that of similar schools. The UNCF also provides over 450 scholarships and fellowships that support deserving students through the doctorate level of education. Moreover, of the 65,000 students supported by the UNCF, 60 percent are the first in their families to attend college and 62 percent have annual family incomes of less than $25,000. The Fund has also recently established Liberty Scholarships, which allow the children of the victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001--regardless of age, race or creed--to attend any of the UNCF's member institutions.”