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.
East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, received a $500,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for a program to increase the number of underrepresented minority or economically disadvantaged graduate students in the library sciences. The funds will support recruitment efforts and full tuition scholarships for 30 students.
Historically Black Hampton University in Virginia received a $223,000 grant from the United States Army that will be used to install microwave reactors in its chemistry laboratories to replace other heat sources such as Bunsen burners. The department will develop a standardized list of microwave reaction procedures that may be used by other universities that transition to microwave heating. The grant program is under the direction of Godson C. Nwokogu, professor of chemistry at Hampton University.
Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, received a $8.5 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development for programs to help advance rural development in the African nation of Ethiopia. The Agricultural Knowledge, Learning, Documentation, and Policy Project will be coordinated by researchers at the Tufts University Feinstein International Center.
Historically Black Tuskegee University in Alabama received a $250,000 grant from the Chevron Corporation. The funds will be used for scholarships for students in the university’s College of Engineering and the Brimmer School of Business.
The Rare Book School at the University of Virginia received a $300,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for a program to increase the number of underrepresented minorities as special collections librarians. The program will bring 20 students each summer to the Rare Book School for training and networking opportunities.
The University of Kansas received a grant from the National Science Foundation to hold a three-day workshop on preserving African languages. More than 2,000 languages are spoken in Africa and more than 10 percent may be endangered, which means they are no longer being taught to younger generations.
South Dakota State University received a five-year, $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for research on how to anticipate malaria outbreaks in Ethiopia. Using earth-imaging satellites and data from public health professionals in Ethiopia, scientists at the university hope to be able to give healthcare workers sufficient warning of when and where a major outbreak may occur. As a result, preventive measures may be taken to curb the outbreak and medicine stockpiles can be moved to appropriate areas.
