The STARS College Network has announced a $20 million gift from the Trott Family Foundation that will fund a partnership with 16 universities and colleges to expand access to higher education for students from small towns and rural communities.  

The gift from the foundation established by Giving Pledge signatories Byron and Tina Trott will help create pathways to college for students who might not otherwise recognize the full range of educational opportunities available to them. Students who live outside metropolitan areas face a variety of obstacles to pursuing a college degree, while recruiters, facing their own resource limitations, often bypass the very communities where students are less likely to encounter programs that help them with college applications, financial aid paperwork, and standardized test preparation.  

Colleges and universities participating in the network include Brown University, California Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, Colby College, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, University of Chicago, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.   

The network’s effort will include creating pipeline programs that bring students to campus over summer break to help them prepare academically and for college life; holding on-campus events for prospective students; expanding visits by college admissions staff to high schools in small towns and rural communities; supporting students in the college application process; providing scholarship funds and help in applying for financial aid; creating mentoring programs for current students, faculty, and staff to promote a campus community that welcomes and supports students from small towns; and partnering with local and national businesses to provide internships and job opportunities for the next generation of rural and small-town Americans.  

“There is a massive talent pool in our small towns and rural communities that has so much to offer—to our colleges, to society and to future generations,” said Byron Trott. “These smaller communities simply don’t have the resources to help show these students what is possible and help them get there.”  

(Photo credit: Getty Images/ Skynesher)