By Octavia KnoxCalifornia Lutheran University faculty and staff have been awarded over $1.6 million in grant funding for projects supporting students’ academic journeys, strengthening community partnerships and advancing faculty research throughout the 2027 fiscal year. The grants, awarded between June and September, came from various sources, including federal agencies, charitable foundations and community organizations.
“At Cal Lutheran, we believe education should help people flourish: our students, our faculty and the communities we call home,” President John Nunes said. “Grant funding plays a vital role in that mission by deepening the bonds between our university and the neighbors we are called to serve, equipping our students with the resources they need to succeed both in the classroom and beyond. It also opens doors for our faculty to pursue groundbreaking research that not only advances their disciplines but allows them to help the next generation flourish through richer, more informed teaching.”
The most significant award is a $1,499,810 federal grant for Cal Lutheran’s TRIO Talent Search Program, a tutoring and college prep initiative serving first-generation middle and high school students. Awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor and administered by the U.S. Department of Education, the grant renews the 11-year program for an additional five years.
The program helps students facing financial difficulties on their path to higher education via academic advising, tutoring, financial aid application assistance, college visits and career exploration. The grant will allow the program to widen its reach from serving 500 students annually to 600 in Oxnard and Port Hueneme. Del Sol High School is the newest partner campus.
For Victoria Garcia, TC ’14, TRIO Talent Search academic specialist, an alumna of the program herself who has been part of the program since its beginning, the renewal represents more than additional funding.
“At a time when programs like ours have faced threats to their very existence, this renewal reminds us that our collective advocacy matters,” she said. “Adding 100 students means opening 100 more doors to opportunity. Behind every door is a student, a family and a future worth fighting for.”
Other recent grants will support academic programs and research initiatives at Cal Lutheran. The Bolick Foundation granted the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary $10,000 to help fund future gatherings of the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries programs. Students and pastors will meet to discuss theological education and ministerial leadership.
Faculty research also received substantial funding. Sunyoung Park, an associate professor in Cal Lutheran’s Master of Science in Clinical Psychology program, secured a $40,000 National Institutes of Health subaward provided through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The intention of this grant is to help fund research to better understand the role that parents play in adolescents’ alcohol use risk.
In addition, the university’s commitment to strengthening its relationship with the community is reflected in grants that support several service-oriented programs. The Center for Nonprofit Leadership received $35,000 from the McCune Foundation and $1,500 from Montecito Bank & Trust for community events.
The City of Thousand Oaks granted $5,000 to support the installation of wellness vending machines on campus, which will give students access to various medical and wellness products. Campus Ministry received $4,000 from SoCal Gas to replenish supplies for the Community Cupboard food pantry, which supports students on campus who experience food insecurity.
Other funded projects include a $5,000 grant from the Wabash Center to the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, as well as a $28,000 grant from the University of California Office of the President to perpetuate the California Reading and Literature Project.
These awards showcase Cal Lutheran’s investment and dedication it has to students, faculty and community partners.
