ISSUED: 1 October 2026
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University has been awarded a $2.6 million Title III Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to strengthen academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability.
Dr. Jack DeRochi, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, called the grant a game-changer for Shepherd students.
“This grant is transformational for everyone at Shepherd,” said DeRochi. “Our Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) did an incredible job securing this opportunity for our students.”
Emily Samide, director of OSP, said the grant represents a significant milestone for the University. “This is the largest university-wide programmatic grant Shepherd University has ever received, outside of congressionally directed funding,” Samide said. “The distributions will continue over five years, with approximately $750,000 coming to Shepherd in the first year alone.”
Shepherd University will use the SIP funds to establish Shepherd University ASCEND (AI-Enabled Student Success Capacity Building and Educational Navigation for Degree Completion), a project designed to address persistent institutional challenges such as a lack of funding, gaps in retention and completion, and delayed workforce alignment response.
DeRochi said ASCEND will establish pathways to improve student outcomes and strengthen institutional capacity across the board.
“ASCEND brings an integrated approach that aligns administrative modernization, academic innovation, and faculty development around our students,” he said. “Using this funding, ASCEND will create opportunities to bring 21st-century technological support for students to all areas and to align their skills with what they need to be successful in the workforce of the future.”
At the institutional level, the project will use AI to automate administrative processes, reduce administrative burden, and improve services for students.
“We want students to be successful and have the skills necessary to meet the demands of the workforce,” DeRochi said. “This funding not only allows us to continue teaching those skills but ensures we have the stability and infrastructure in place to do so in perpetuity.”
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