Here is this week’s news of grants won by historically black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.
Columbia University in New York City was awarded a five-year, $3.7 million federal grant to train minority students for careers in public health. The grant will fund the Summer Public Health Scholars Program which will recruit about 50 students each year for an intensive 10-week summer course in public health-related disciplines. Students at community colleges, undergraduates at four-year colleges, and post-baccalaureate students who are undecided on a career path will be recruited for the summer program.
Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, has received funding from the National Cancer Institute for its African-American Cancer Epidemiology Study. The goal is to enroll 1,000 African-American women who have been recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 1,000 black women who have never had the disease as a control group. Recruitment for the study has begun at nine locations in the East and Midwest and is expected to continue for the next four years.
Participants will give a blood sample and complete surveys on their medical history, diet, family history, and everyday activities in an effort to determine why African-American women have lower rates of ovarian cancer but higher mortality rates than white women who develop the disease.
Michigan State University in East Lansing received a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development for a program to help farmers in Kenya and Zambia overcome the effects of climate change on their agricultural operations.
Historically black Virginia State University received a five-year, $1.15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education for programs to help local students prepare college admission and financial aid applications.
Morgan State University, the historically black educational institution in Baltimore, received a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the Director of National Intelligence to establish degree programs in national security studies.
The Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore received a five-year $4.49 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for education programs for minority undergraduate and graduate students in public health fields.
