By Donald Gilpin

Committed to increasing enrollment of first-generation and lower-income students and to supporting those students academically and socially on campus, Princeton University will be establishing the new Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity, funded by a gift — $20 million according to the Wall Street Journal — from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The Center will serve as headquarters for expanded programs that are designed to provide students with the “mentorship, academic enrichment, and community” that they need to succeed at Princeton, according to a University press release.

“They empower students to successfully navigate the University’s many resources, to achieve their professional, personal, and scholarly goals, and to become active leaders on campus and in the larger world,” the release states.

The Center will also be a hub for research for colleges and universities across the country that are seeking to expand college access and enhance success for first-generation and lower-income students.

Programs to be scaled up in size and scope as part of Princeton’s Emma Bloomberg Center include the Freshman Scholars Institute (FSI), an immersive seven-week summer program for incoming first-year students; the Scholars Institute Fellows Program, building upon FSI and working with first-generation, lower-income students throughout their undergraduate years; the Princeton University Preparatory Program, offering year-round academic and social opportunities for area high school students and supporting their college applications; the Princeton Summer Journalism Program, a summer on-campus program for high achieving high school juniors from lower-income backgrounds; the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program; and the University’s Program for Transfer, Non-Traditional and Veterans Students.

“Over the last five years, I have witnessed tremendous campus support from faculty, staff, alumni, and students, for the important work of building programs and policies that promote equity of access and opportunity and that empower the global community of FLi (first-generation, lower-income) students to achieve their academic and professional goals,” said Princeton University Associate Dean Khristina Gonzalez, who will serve as director of the Center. “Our FLi student community has been central in this effort.”

Gonzalez, who directs the Programs for Access and Inclusion and the FSI, emphasized the importance of the Bloomberg gift in “helping more students access college, ensuring that they have the opportunity to thrive on those campuses, and creating new channels to share best practices and research insights with other schools.”

Emma Bloomberg, a 2001 Princeton University graduate, Bloomberg Philanthropies board member, and daughter of billionaire businessman and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, shared her vision in a press release from the University. “My years at Princeton were tremendously formative and inspiring, and my closest friends to this day remain my classmates,” she said. “I am forever grateful to have experienced such an incredible opportunity, and I want young people across the world, regardless of race, class, or geographic origin, to access the same resources and opportunities.”

She continued, “But to achieve that vision, we know that getting students to college isn’t sufficient; we must do all we can to provide a more comprehensive support system for all who matriculate. This Center will help make sure that students who are disproportionately affected by the inequities in education are better able to access supports, resources, and opportunities, and that lessons learned are shared broadly across the country.”

Stating that the new center will be “transformative,” Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber pointed out that “Increasing educational access and opportunity is one of the University’s highest priorities.”

Michael Bloomberg emphasized Princeton University’s commitment to increasing educational opportunities for students who need them most, and he added, “As Princeton continues to raise the bar for what college access and success should mean, we look forward to seeing this new Center help even more first-generation, lower-income students achieve their goals — and push our country forward on the path to equality and equity.”

Princeton University has increased the diversity of its student body in recent years. First-generation college students comprise 22 percent of admissions to next fall’s freshman class, an increase from about 17 percent last year. About 68 percent of U.S. citizens or permanent residents in this year’s admitted group self-identified as people of color.

The University’s no-loan financial aid policy offers grant aid to replace loans to meet 100 percent of each student’s financial need, making it possible for most students to graduate from Princeton with little to no debt. Princeton has increased the percentage of its student body that receives need-based federal Pell Grants from 6.2 percent in 2001 to 19.3 percent in the class admitted a year ago.