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, the historically Black educational institution in Mississippi received a $100,000 grant from the Lockheed Martin corporation to establish the Lockheed Martin STEM Innovative Partnership at the university.
Historically Black Delaware State University received a five-year, $10.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support its Delaware Center for Neuroscience Research and the Delaware State University Center of Biomedical Research Excellence. The grant is the largest in the university’s history.
The University of Alabama Birmingham received three grants totaling $3.8 million over five years to provide an academic pipeline for students from underrepresented groups to pursue bachelor’s and doctoral programs. Two of the grants are for the Upward Bound programs that will prepare high school students for college. The third program will provide research opportunities for university graduates who plan on pursuing a doctoral degree.
Winston-Salem State University, the historically Black educational institution in North Carolina, received a $385,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health for a diabetes prevention program in high-risk, low-income communities.
Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, received a five-year, $5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to enhance sorghum farming in sub-Saharan Africa. The research is under the direction of Gebisa Ejeta, a distinguished professor in the department of agronomy and director of the Purdue Center for Global Food Security. His work has genetically altered sorghum seeds to produce crops more resistant to drought and weeds.
Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, received a $1 million donation from alumnus Antonio Clayton that will be used to build a Championship Plaza at its football facility. The donation will also establish an endowed chair in the university’s music department.
