Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.
Jackson State University in Mississippi received a $300,000 grant from the NoVo Foundation to support the Lighthouse project at the university’s Margaret Walker Center. The foundation was created by a gift from businessman Warren Buffet. The Lighthouse project, directed by Natalie Collier, provides a safe space for Black girls and young women to address their personal, social, and leadership development needs.
Drexel University in Philadelphia received a five-year, $12 million grant from the Wellcome Trust for research on how urban living impacts overall health. The research will be conducted in urban area in Caribbean nations and in Latin America.
North Carolina A&T State University, the historically Black educational institution in Greensboro, received a $2 million grant from the Merck Foundation to support the university’s Center for Outreach in Alzheimer’s, Aging, and Community Health. Goldie S. Byrd, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university is the interim director of the center. Dr. Byrd holds a Ph.D. in microbial genetics from Meharry Medical College in Nashville.
Historically Black Hampton University in Virginia received a $100,000 donation from William R. Harvey, the university’s president, to fund study abroad programs for students at the university. Over his tenure as university president, Dr. Harvey and his wife have donated more than $3.1 million to Hampton University.
