Bellarmine University Inc.
09/30/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/30/2025 07:54
Bellarmine awarded $1.36 million TRIO Student Support grant
Federal grant will fund new Student Support Services program for first-generation and low-income students
Bellarmine University has earned a highly competitive Federal TRIO Student Support Services grant from the U.S. Department of Education, marking the first time the university has received this prestigious award. The five-year, $1,361,820 grant will fund a new program designed to help first-generation and low-income students persist, thrive, and graduate.
TRIO Student Support Services Grant
| $1.36 million grant awarded by U.S. Department of Education |
| Creates Bellarmine's new TRIO Student Support Services program |
| Five-year funding commitment beginning fall 2025 |
Impact on Students
| Provides academic advising, tutoring, mentoring, and financial literacy education |
| Helps first-generation, low-income students persist to graduation |
| Builds on Bellarmine's commitment as an Opportunity College - Higher Access, Higher Earnings |
Why It Matters
| Strengthens Bellarmine's mission to educate students - mind, body, and spirit |
| Expands resources for student success and upward economic mobility |
| Ensures personalized support for students from historically underserved backgrounds |
The grant underscores the university's commitment to expanding opportunity and strengthening outcomes for underrepresented students. About half of Bellarmine's undergraduates are Pell-eligible and/or first-generation students, making this funding especially impactful.
"This TRIO award is both investment in our students and another national endorsement of the great work happening at Bellarmine," said Dr. Susan M. Donovan, president of Bellarmine University. "We are deeply committed to ensuring that every student has the support to succeed in mind, body, and spirit. This grant strengthens that promise and gives participating students greater opportunity to achieve the unrivaled career outcomes that come with a Bellarmine degree."
Bellarmine's TRIO Student Support Services program will offer academic coaching, services for monitoring academic progress, academic tutoring, financial literacy education, FAFSA completion assistance, career exploration, mentoring, and graduate school preparation. Dr. Kristen Wallitsch, dean of student success & international programs and Bellarmine's project director for the TRIO grant, said the program will provide vital academic and personal support.
"This grant will help us walk alongside first-generation and low-income students from the moment they arrive on campus through graduation," Wallitsch said. "We know our students bring incredible talent and drive, and the Bellarmine TRIO Student Support Services program will help ensure they have the tools and the community to achieve their goals."
The TRIO Student Support Services grant enhances opportunities for academic development and motivates students toward the successful completion of their postsecondary education. At least two-thirds of the participants in Bellarmine's funded project will be low income individuals who are first-generation college students and all participants will be either low income or first-generation. The Council for Opportunity in Education reports that TRIO Student Support grants provide a return on investment through student career outcomes of at least $13 for every $1 spent by the federal government.
This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. This new grant - $272,364 per year, totaling $1,361,820 over five years - is projected to cover 92 percent of the total costs of Bellarmine University's TRIO program from September 25, 2025, to August 24, 2030. Bellarmine University will cover the remaining 8% of program costs - an estimated $23,348 annually, excluding additional in-kind costs - from its operating budget.
It is one of several recent national recognitions and other accomplishments for the university that highlight the institution's mission-driven momentum:
- Carnegie Classification - Bellarmine is designated an "Opportunity College - Higher Access, Higher Earnings," placing it among just 16% of institutions nationally recognized for advancing student success and economic mobility.
- National recognition - Bellarmine is consistently ranked among the top colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, Forbes, Washington Monthly, Niche, and Money Magazine.
- Graduate outcomes - 99% of graduates are employed or in graduate school within six months, an outcome that is 16% higher than the average for all U.S. colleges and universities.
- Service recognition - Washington Monthly ranks Bellarmine among the nation's top 75 colleges for embedding service and civic engagement into the student experience.
- Leadership and character education - Bellarmine received a $250,000 grant from the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University to strengthen programs in ethical leadership and character development, reinforcing the university's Catholic mission and commitment to educating the whole person.
Bellarmine University Inc. published this content on September 30, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 30, 2025 at 13:54 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]