Experts say that is the first major grant from a private philanthropy ever given to the cause.
The grant is desperately needed, said Antonio R. Flores, the president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, based in San Antonio. Though 15 percent of Americans classify themselves as Hispanic, only 7 percent of Hispanic students who graduate from high school attend college, he said. Of those who do enroll, between 30 percent and 40 percent don't finish their first year. They come from families that don't have the benefit of having gone to college. In many instances, they haven't finished high school.