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University of St. Thomas says federal scholarships for teacher residencies were terminated; students face sudden gaps
Summary
University of St. Thomas told the Education Finance Committee a $6.8 million federal seed grant was canceled for reasons described in the termination notice as related to DEI priorities; faculty and a student resident described scholarship and stipend losses affecting hundreds of candidates in teacher residency and "work-and-learn" pathways.
University of St. Thomas president and special-education faculty told the Minnesota State Education Finance Committee that federal funding enabling scholarship and stipend support for several teacher-preparation pathways was abruptly halted in February when the university received termination notices. The presenters said the two impacted federal awards included a $6.8 million "seed" grant supporting hundreds of scholarship recipients and an earlier Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant used to fund living stipends for teacher residents.
"After the close of business on Friday night, February seventh, we received an email ... that it contained a termination letter note giving us notice that the grant had been canceled and that it was canceled because it is, considered a DEI initiative," University of St. Thomas President Rob Visscher told the committee. Faculty co-directors Lynn Stansbury Brunson and Shelley Nielsen Gaddy said the terminations interrupted funding commitments to residents, apprentices and undergraduates who had been promised scholarships or living stipends.
Faculty said the cancelled seed grant had supported scholarships for roughly 300 elementary and special-education candidates across about 80 Minnesota communities, and that 48 percent of scholarship recipients worked in Minneapolis and St. Paul with the rest in suburbs and Greater Minnesota. "This halt will also impact our undergrad pathway," the faculty said, noting juniors who had been promised senior-year support now face uncertain financial choices.
Justin Jones, a Minneapolis teacher resident enrolled in the St. Thomas residency, described the immediate effect: "Because Saint Thomas's federal seed grant was rescinded by the current administration, I will no longer be able to complete the program without taking on debt," he told the committee. Jones said the residency model allowed him to continue working, receive coursework during the day and complete a master's degree and licensure on a compressed schedule; the removed funding now forces him to consider loans to finish.
Faculty and administrators said they had not yet secured full federal guidance on appeals. The termination letters included instructions about appeals, they said, and the university reported it was contacting federal officials and elected representatives. "The termination letter included language about being able to appeal the decision. And so we're exploring that opportunity," President Visscher said.
Several senators expressed concern about the federal action and asked for documentation; a committee member requested the university provide the termination email and a short synopsis of affected dollars and programs for the committee's review. University presenters described the awards as "braided" funding: students in programs also receive state and district support (state residency grants, student teacher grants and district salary support) and the federal funds had been intended to extend those dollars so more candidates could be supported.
Committee members acknowledged the broader policy issues raised by the terminations and indicated they would pursue further information. No committee-level remedial action or appropriation was made during this hearing.
