Here is this week’s news of grants to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.
Xavier University of Louisiana, a historically Black educational institution in New Orleans, received a $250,000 grant from the BP Gulf Tourism and Seafood Promotion Fund for a marketing program for the university’s Convocation Center. The university will promote the use of the center for community events such as concerts, conventions, and meetings.
Historically Black Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, received a $353,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support the university’s TRIO programs. The program will provide financial aid, counseling, and other services to first-generation college students.
Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, received a three-year, $1.18 million grant from the National Science Foundation to prepare students in the predominantly Black public school system in the metropolitan area for careers in technology fields. The grant will fund the college’s STEM Academy for Youth featuring Youth Essential Skills (SAY-YES).
The neuroscience program at historically Black Delaware State University in Dover received a $433,645 grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The grant will be used to study the pathophysiology of neuromuscular disorders such as muscular dystrophy.
The University of California Riverside has received a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to improve retention rates for underrepresented students in STEM disciplines.
Historically Black Tuskegee University in Alabama received a $200,000 grant from the Daniel Foundation of Alabama to create a scholarship fund for students from Alabama who have financial need. To qualify for scholarships under the program students must have a 3.0 grade point average or better.
Florida A&M University, the historically Black educational institution in Tallahassee, received a five-year, $13.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support biomedical research and the research infrastructure of the university. The research will focus on developing drugs that can be used to combat various degenerative diseases.
Saint Louis University received a two-year, $100,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a research project to determine which behaviors and policies are more beneficial to improve the health of Black men.
The project is under the direction of Keon Gilbert, assistant professor in the College for Public Health and Social Justice. Dr. Gilbert is a graduate of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He holds a master of public affairs degree from Indiana University and a doctorate in behavioral community health sciences from the University of Pittsburgh.
