FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
June 3, 2005 
Contact: Shirley Melikian Armbruster
(559) 278-5292 or (559) 593-1815

Fresno State’s DeRoo selected for program

targeting minority health care needs

Donna DeRoo, a capacity building specialist with the Central California Children’s Institute at California State University, Fresno, was one of 20 researchers, administrators and minority health grant specialists from throughout the nation selected to represent the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) to focus on efforts to improve health care among the growing Hispanic population in the United States.

The DHHS-HACU Professions Capacity Building Program is a competitive training and professional development program designed to strengthen the capacity of the country’s historically underfunded Hispanic-Serving Institutions to secure and manage more federal grants and other funding opportunities for biomedical and health services research targeting minority health care needs. Fresno State qualifies as one out of 194 HACU Member Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

DeRoo, a capacity building specialist with the children’s institute, was the only HACU institution member from the Central California region selected for the 2005 program. 

“The DHHS-HACU Professions Capacity Building Program is a valuable opportunity for dedicated faculty and capacity building staff at Hispanic-Serving Institutions to convene for a worthwhile learning experience that will serve to improve the chances of their continued quest for federal grants in health-related research and service areas,” said Dr. Benjamin Cuellar, dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State. 

DeRoo has been with the Children’s Institute since 2002. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Fresno State and a master’s degree in public administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

“I am very committed to helping build the capacity of the College of Health and Human Services, its departments, as well as the university as a whole. I’m hoping that my efforts serve to increase the number of opportunities pursuing federal funding. Our region can greatly benefit from receiving consistent federal dollars,” said DeRoo. 

The DHHS-HACU Professions Capacity Building Program is funded by the National Center on Minority and Health Disparities through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is administered by the DHHS Office of Minority Health. 

For more information, contact Brandie Campbell at (559) 228-2150 or bcampbell@csufresno.edu.

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