Two grants totaling over $9.6 million were reinstated to St. Thomas on March 17 after the Trump administration cut them in February, university spokesperson Brant Skogrand wrote in an email to The Crest Friday.
The Supporting Effective Educator Development and Teacher Quality Partnership funds were restored after two lawsuits were filed through a U.S. District Court. The funds from these programs develop and strengthen teacher pipelines, he wrote.
“In Minnesota, these grants come at a critical time as institutions such as St. Thomas work to address the shortage of teachers in the state’s school districts,” Skogrand wrote.
The Crest previously reported that the Trump administration canceled a $6.8 million SEED grant given in 2023 to St. Thomas’s School of Education, which funded graduate students pursuing teaching careers for three years, awarding them with $10,000 in scholarships. Undergraduate students also benefited, receiving stipends while student teaching in special education and elementary education.
The administration also canceled a $2.8 million education TQP grant during its fifth and final year of administering, impacting around 20 graduate students.
In total, 185 students benefit from the federal grants.
University of Minnesota spokesperson Jake Ricker said that university officials there learned that their $2.36 million Teacher Quality Partnership grant would also be reinstated.
Miles Schiffer can be reached at schi9629@stthomas.edu.
Grace Woelfel can be reached at woel8456@stthomas.edu.
