Boston University is partnering up with Sovereign Bank to fund several school initiatives, according to a statement by the bank on Friday.
The new partnership will provide scholarships to students of BU's School of Public Health and start an undergraduate program on Spanish language and culture, according to the statement.
The initiative also includes an outreach program that will give students the opportunity to share Spanish culture and language with the wider Boston community, the statement said.
"We are grateful to Sovereign Bank and Banco Santander for the generous support for two very promising initiatives &- one in global health and one in language and literature," BU President Robert Brown said in the statement. "They are making it possible for us to provide scholarship support for students in the School of Public Health who will do their field practice overseas. And this support is enabling our outreach to the Latino community in the greater Boston area through language and cultural programs. Through its Santander Universities consortium, Sovereign and Santander have made an extraordinary commitment to strengthening international higher education."
Sovereign Bank, a subsidiary of the Spain-based company Banco Santander, intends to provide support to students through its "Santander Universities" program in order to show support of higher education throughout the world, the statement said.
The new program will be named "The Hispanic Voices Program" and will include "a unique community service course that enables students to introduce Spanish-language theatre into Boston-area high schools," the statement said.
As part of the program, the Spanish House will be renovated into a center providing community group classes on Spanish culture and language. The building will also host cultural events for the Department of Romance Studies, the statement said.
"We are proud to announce our first partnership with Boston University in support of student scholarships that will further advance higher education and international collaboration &- components that are crucial to Santander Universities and its mission," said Banco Santander Chairman Emilio Botin in the press release.
"This innovative agreement also establishes a new undergraduate program that connects students with the Greater Boston community by strengthening Spanish and cultural ties."
The scholarship for public health students is for students involved in overseas studies at the School of Public Health's Center for Global Health and Development, the statement said.
Of the 20 students who will receive the scholarship, half will be undergraduates with low or moderate income and half will be Latin American.
In addition, 25 students in the Kenya Field Practice Program will be helped by a special fund set up by the agreement.
According to Forbes, Banco Santander is the sixth most powerful company in the world, with assets totaling $1,438.68 billion, making it the largest bank in Spain. The company has partnerships with 900 universities all over the world, according to the press release.
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