UCLA received $1.5 million to help disadvantaged populations such as undocumented workers and children of immigrant families.
The Ford Foundation awarded the grant to UCLA, a university press release announced Thursday. The foundation will endow one $750,000 grant to the UCLA Labor Center – part of the UCLA College’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment – and another to the Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.
The grant will support the labor center’s Dream Resource Center and ReWork, two projects dedicated to creating a more equal economy for immigrant families, according to the UCLA Labor Center’s website. The grant will also help the center provide technical assistance to Los Angeles worker centers and evaluate state workforce development programs.
The Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education aims to research and publish information on the experiences of children born in other countries. The grant will specifically help develop three projects, including Re-imagining Migration, which develops curricula for educators to combat misconceptions about immigration and build a national media campaign to change the general public attitude toward migrants, according to the university press release.
The foundation was established in 1936 by Edsel Ford – son of Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company. The Ford Foundation has provided grants to UCLA for over 60 years, with its philanthropy focused on combating poverty and promoting international cooperation, according to the press release.
The foundation’s contribution is a part of the Centennial Campaign for UCLA, which will last until December 2019.