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 North Carolina Central University has received a $1 million Excellence in Research grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate the behavior of free-radical molecules, which play a role in human inflammatory diseases. The research will help provide a better understanding of reactions involving engineered nanomaterials, specifically carbon nanodots.
Delaware State University, the historically Black educational institution in Dover, has received a $3.4 million grant from the Delaware Higher Education Economic Development Fund to expand its aviation program, the only one of its kind among historically Black colleges and universities. The funds will go towards 10 new Vulcanair V1.0 FAA-certified single-engine aircraft from Ameravia Inc. The university expects to create hundreds of new jobs through construction, and positions for mechanics, flight instructors, and support staff that will support the newly expanded hangar space at the Delaware Air Park in Cheswold.
The Transportation Research Center at historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C., has received a $3.75 million grant from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to study D.C. traffic crashes and potential safety improvements to the city. The grant is through D.C.’s Vision Zero Initiative which aims to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024. Students and faculty at the center will obtain, manage, and analyze traffic crash data for the DDOT. They will also research emerging methods on communication between drivers, road infrastructure, and cloud technology.
Ohio State University has received a $2.5 million donation from JPMorgan Chase to support two of the university’s signature programs that promote academic excellence for students from diverse backgrounds. The Morrill Scholars Program, which rewards academically talented students who are engaged in diversity-based leadership, service and social justice activities, and the Young Scholars Program, which supports academically talented, first-generation college students with financial need to advance their goals of pursuing higher education, will receive the new funds.
The mathematics, computer and information sciences, and natural sciences and environmental health departments at historically Black Mississippi Valley State University have received $200,000 from the U.S. Department of Education in an effort to strengthen the university’s research capacity. The funding will assist faculty members in fortifying their research capabilities by visiting and partnering with some of the major research laboratories in the country. Additionally the funds will support hands-on research experience for STEM student researchers.
A professor at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, has received a grant from Georgia Humanities to support continuing research and service by Mercer students and faculty focused on preservation of African-American heritage sites on the Georgia coast. The funds will go to an upcoming public presentation by Mercer students and faculty members titled “This is My Dirt: Stories of Saint Simons Island,” based on oral history interviews conducted by students with residents of the island located off Georgia’s coast.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded a grant for $1 million each year for five years to the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) and the American College of Academic Addiction Medicine (ACAAM) to collaborate with the Yale University department of psychiatry on a new program to help train minorities and increase their participation in addiction psychiatry and medicine, and also focus on providing treatment to underserved populations. The new Yale-based training program, Recognizing and Eliminating disparities in Addiction through Culturally informed Healthcare (REACH), will build on the existing infrastructure and partnerships between AAP and addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine fellowship programs at Yale. REACH is led by an advisory committee made up of racially and culturally diverse policy makers, addiction physicians, community physicians, and activists, who will ensure that the curriculum is strong in diverse clinical and training perspectives.
