April 25, 2011
(Santa Ana) - The Santa Ana College (SAC) Foundation has received a $25,000 donation from Union Bank. This charitable gift will be used to offset the costs of the Summer Scholars Transfer Institute (SSTI). The SSTI is an intensive 10-day residential summer institute held at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) preparing low-income and underrepresented community college students for transfer to the UC system.
“This transformational program takes a very specific group of first-generation, underrepresented students and exposes them to academic excellence that otherwise would not be possible because of multiple personal, family and work-centered demands on their time,” said James A. Ellis, SAC Foundation board president. “We are very grateful that Union Bank will be supporting us in this endeavor.”
In its 16th year, the program serves approximately 100 students annually. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, the program was forced to pause in 2010. Thanks to this generous donation, the program will be reinstated in summer 2011.
“We at Union Bank recognize the importance of higher education and are honored to partner with Santa Ana College to create opportunities for deserving students to transfer to a four-year college,” says Carl Ballton, senior vice president and president of the Union Bank Foundation.
To maximize learning opportunities, UCI and SAC faculty and counselors reside in the UCI residence halls with the students during the program. As part of the institute, the students earn three credits by completing one of the three classes. Courses offered have included political science, physical science, psychology, speech communication, sociology, and more. In addition, each participating student receives one-on-one counseling from UC and California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) admissions officers during a unique pre-transfer advisement day.
Since 1993, a total of 1,252 students have participated in the program resulting in 43 percent transferring to a four-year university, which is 30 percent higher than the general population. To be eligible for program participation, students must have a minimum GPA of 2.4 and have completed at transfer level English and math course, as well as a total of 24 transferable units by the end of the spring semester prior to the institute. The program is nationally recognized as a “Learning Community” model. Key partners in the program include: Santa Ana College, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Los Angeles, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, and CSU Fullerton.
About the Rancho Santiago Community College District The mission of the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) is to respond to the educational needs of an ever-changing community and to provide programs and services that reflect academic excellence. Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College are public community colleges of RSCCD, which serve the residents of Anaheim Hills, East Garden Grove, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and Villa Park. Both colleges provide education for academic transfer and careers, courses for personal and professional development, customized training for business and industry, and programs to train nurses, firefighters and law enforcement personnel.
About UnionBanCal Corporation & Union Bank, N.A. Headquartered in San Francisco, UnionBanCal Corporation is a financial holding company with assets of $79.1 billion at December 31, 2010. Its primary subsidiary, Union Bank, N.A., is a full service commercial bank providing an array of financial services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations. The bank operated 401 banking offices in California, Washington, Oregon and Texas, as well as two international offices, on December 31, 2010. UnionBanCal Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. Union Bank is a proud member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG, NYSE:MTU), one of the world’s largest financial organizations. Visit www.unionbank.com for more information.
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