Hampton University News February 18, 2014 HU awarded grant to promote financial literacy in low-income communities Hampton University is one of four institutions recently awarded the Minority Retirement and Security grant. HU received a total funding of $118,148 that is renewable for 5 years. This is a first time grant offering administered by the U.S. Department of Education and funded by the Social Security Administration. The grant, which was awarded to the HU School of Business, focuses on the promotion of financial literacy research and workshops in primarily low-income African-American communities. The three areas of personal financial management concern are financial literacy, financial decision-making, and retirement security. "Smart money management and sound financial planning are critical to our well-being as individuals and as a nation," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "These grants will help improve strategies to provide greater retirement security for minority and low-income communities." The program develops minority graduate students to become researchers and community facilitators in financial education. Grantees will use their funds to provide stipends to the graduate students in various social science disciplines who will be conducting the research as part of their studies. The body of work developed by the students will be used in a variety of ways to help the public, ranging from partnerships with organizations that provide outreach to the community, presentations at conferences, and development of financial decision-making tools that educate the public and facilitate change. Dr. Ziette Hayes, assistant professor of business administration, is the program director at HU and the co-program director is Dr. Ruby Beale, professor and chair of the Department of Business Administration. "This project extends beyond simply delivering financial literacy; it includes a significant scholarly research component that can yield to longitudinal results," said Hayes. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.