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.
Fayetteville State University, the historically Black educational institution in North Carolina, received a $718,338 grant from the Office of Naval Research. The grant will fund programs to increase the number of local high school students and undergraduate students at the university who study in STEM disciplines that are of interest to the Navy and national security.
Historically Black Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina, received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a research program for undergraduate students in STEM fields. The grant program is under the direction of Mark A. Melton, dean of the School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering at the university. Dr. Melton is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a master’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro and a Ph.D. in developmental neurobiology from the University of Maryland.
The University of West Florida in Pensacola received a five-year, $930,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health that will provide financial aid to minority and low-income students in doctoral degree programs in chemistry, biology, and physics. Funds will also be used for summer research internships for these students.
Historically Black North Carolina Central University in Durham received a $497,723 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research in developing better methods of isolating and concentrating disease-causing microorganisms in food samples.
Central State University, a historically Black educational institution in Wilberforce, Ohio, received a three-year, $500,000 grant from the Air Force Research Laboratory. The grant will be used for research in ways to improve the lithium-ion battery.
