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.
Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond received a two-year, $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for programs to increase the number of nurses for community-based clinics that serve patients from disadvantaged groups. The grant will fund clinical care training programs that will encourage students to stay in underserved areas upon graduation.
Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, received a $500,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities to support its Africana studies program. The grant kicked in when alumni matched the grant with similar funding. The funding will support curriculum enhancements, student workshops, digital documentation efforts, and the hiring of visiting fellows and graduate fellows.
The National Institutes of Health has issued a $12 million grant to researchers at Vanderbilt University, the University of Southern California, and Boston University for a study on why there is a higher mortality rate for African American women who suffer from breast cancer compared to other women. Scientists will examine genetic and biological differences that may be a factor in higher death rates for African American women with breast cancer.
The School of Nursing at the University of Alabama Birmingham received a two-year, $187,293 grant from the National Institutes of Health for a study on how spirituality plays a role in the relationships of patients with chronic illnesses and their caregivers. The research is under the direction of Deborah Ejem, a postdoctoral fellow at the university. Dr. Ejem holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in medical sociology, all from the University of Alabama Birmingham.
Philander Smith College, the historically Black educational institution in Little Rock, Arkansas, received a $599,519 grant from the Lilly Endowment to establish the Philander Forward Theological Institute. The institute will encourage high school students to explore theological traditions and ask questions about the moral dimensions of contemporary issues.
