February 11, 2021

Van Hollen, Cardin, Raskin Announce $2 Million for COVID-19 Response in Higher Education

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressman Jamie Raskin (all D-Md.) today announced $2 million in federal funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the American College Health Association (ACHA) to help improve the COVID-19 response at colleges and universities nationwide. ACHA is headquartered in Silver Spring, Md.

“Colleges and universities continue to face challenges as they weigh how to best serve their students while preventing the spread of COVID-19. The American College Health Association, headquartered right here in Maryland, has helped provide crucial guidance and tools to keep students, educators, and campus staff safe and healthy. This new federal funding will help ACHA expand these critical efforts as we work to combat the pandemic,” said Senator Van Hollen.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, colleges and universities are faced with the challenge of keeping students and faculty safe in order to continue in-person learning. The ACHA has been an invaluable resource and advocate for improving awareness and precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on campuses,” said Senator Cardin. “This infusion of federal funds will help ACHA continue to train and educate campus health providers and give universities the tools needed to ensure students can continue learning safely.”

“Headquartered in Maryland’s 8th District, the American College Health Association helps universities and colleges provide critical resources for students, faculty and staff,” said Rep. Raskin. “As institutions of higher education cope with the challenges of COVID-19, this essential funding will support the education and well-being of students and strengthen pandemic response efforts on campuses across the country.”

This funding is made available through the grant project titled Combating COVID-19 in Higher Education. Funding supports efforts including health care training, dissemination of information and the creation of communications tools to improve health outcomes and COVID-19 responses at higher education institutions.