SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The California Student Aid Commission announced today that Commissioner Enrique G. Murillo, Jr., Ph.D., has been elected Chair of the EdFund Board of Directors, with authority to act as President of EdFund, when necessary.

Dr. Murillo is a Professor in the College of Education at California State University, San Bernardino, and serves as the Executive Director of Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD), an organization that promotes a broad-based awareness of the crisis in Latino Education and seeks to enhance the intellectual, cultural and personal development of the Latino community's educators, administrators, leaders and students.  He has also served on the Statewide Pupil Assessment Review Panel, which reviews all the items for K-12 standardized tests in California.

As a Commissioner of the California Student Aid Commission, Dr. Murillo participates in setting policy for the Cal Grant Program, which provides approximately $1 billion in financial aid to help make access to higher education financially accessible to all Californians.

As the Chair of the EdFund Board of Directors, Dr. Murillo will lead EdFund, a nonprofit corporation established by the California Student Aid Commission as an auxiliary organization.  The Commission previously used EdFund to assist in the administration of the Commission's responsibilities under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program for California.  The Commission and EdFund are now working with the United States Department of Education on the transition of the FFEL Program to a different organization, known as ECMC.  The transition includes commitments by ECMC to support Cal Grants with $100 million in fiscal year 2010, at least $42 million in the 2011 fiscal year, with anticipated funding for Cal Grants in future years.  

Dr. Murillo commented, "Given the economic crisis facing our state, it is imperative that we identify every possible avenue to secure student access and protect funding for Cal Grant programs. As a member of the Student Aid Commission and Chair of the EdFund Board, I embrace this opportunity to contribute to the educational and the operational facets of both of these organizations and ensure a seamless conversion."

The California Student Aid Commission is the principal state agency responsible for administering financial aid programs for students attending public and private universities, colleges, and vocational schools in California. The Commission distributed over $1 billion to California's college students during the 2009-10 academic year through its Cal Grant, specialized and loan forgiveness programs. The Commission also administers financial aid awareness and outreach programs, such as Cal-SOAP and Cash for College, in collaboration with business, private industry and community-based organizations.

SOURCE California Student Aid Commission