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.
Historically Black Tuskegee University in Alabama received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for programs to strengthen the organic farming infrastructure in the southeastern United States. The project is under the direction of Kokoasse Kpomblekou, a research professor of soil science at the university.
Tennessee State University, the historically Black educational institution in Nashville, received $100,000 donation to establish a scholarship for business students to honor Gloria Ross White, a 1976 alumna who died in a car accident in 1984. The endowment was established with a gift from White’s sister. The Gloria Ross White Endowed Scholarship in Business will be reserved for first generation students from underrepresented groups. Recipients must have at least a 2.5 grade point average. Graduate students are eligible.
The University of Georgia received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to fund its Bridges to Doctorate program. The grant will support 12 university graduates for two years who are pursuing doctorates in STEM fields with the remaining support coming from the departments in which they study.
Detroit Promise, an organization that provides scholarships to students from Detroit high schools to 22 area colleges and universities, received a $3.5 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In addition to scholarships, the grant will provide funds for counselors for students who receive the scholarships.
Historically Black Clark Atlanta University received a grant from the National Nuclear Security Administration to hold a two-week summer STEM program on campus for high-achieving high school students. The program is under the direction of Veda L. Chandler, director of dual degree engineering program at the university.
The University of California, Irvine received a seven-year $9.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for programs to combat malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. The research project will examine how human-induced environmental modifications such as dam building, irrigation, and agricultural practices impact the transmission of malaria.