Home
ACC to Receive $100,000 Federal Grant
SOLDOTNA, AK (December 29, 2006) – Alaska Christian College (ACC) will receive a $100,000 federal grant after agreeing to keep the money separate from religious activity.
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) initially had granted the college $450,000 for the year. It was part of nearly $1 million in federal money the school had received over a two-year period.
The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit on April 21, 2005, against the DOE, charging that the grants to the school were unconstitutional. The group argued that the funding violates the Constitution because ACC "promotes whole-life discipleship, including teaching from the Bible and teaching about faith in Christ."
The DOE subsequently revoked the funding. A spokesman for the foundation said it will examine the grant before deciding how to proceed. Keith Hamilton, ACC president, has said that all funds were awarded as a result of a "rigorous granting process," which includes detailed plans of how the money was to be spent. Nearly a third of the funds were designated for the $350,000 for the school's counseling center and came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The school is run by the Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska. Attorney Derek Gaubatz, who represents ACC, said the expenditures were not unusual at a time when the government is seeking to fund faith-based initiatives. He added that the money can only be used for academics.
ACC, whose student body is primarily Alaskan Native and Native American, was established in 2000 to assist students in making the transition from village life to their first year of college. Currently a small minority – estimated at less than 5 percent – of Alaska Native high school graduates complete even their first semester of college.
Most of the school’s students come from small and remote villages and suffer culture shock when they first arrive at college, Hamilton says. They benefit greatly in the transition process that ACC offers, he explains.
Gaubatz says the school’s mission of helping the students’ transition meets the criteria of serving the public good.
ACC also operates a second-year "encore" program in cooperation with nearby Kenai Peninsula College. Students can pursue their degree at this public college while still living in the ACC school dorm.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
