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 A&T State University has received a $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences to investigate the biochemical mechanisms that facilitate communication within and between cells in the human body. Through this project, the researchers will identify points of signal integration between cellular signaling pathways. This information can be used to develop computational models of cellular signaling pathways to predict dynamic changes in pathways properties following exposure to various stimuli. This could provide new opportunities for targeted therapies for many diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Indiana University Kokomo has received a $200,000 gift from professor emerita of management, Sita Amba-Rao. The gift will establish the Sita and C.L. Amba-Rao Make a Difference Fund: Business and Leadership, along with scholarships for students in business and nursing. The scholarships will be first available to students from underrepresented backgrounds, including women, African-Americans, Native Americans, LGBTQ+, Hispanic, single parents, and those who are financially challenged.
Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, has received a $125,000 grant to recruit high school and community college students to become trained STEM teachers. The goal is to recruit students from diverse backgrounds and then place them at schools in diverse communities throughout St. Louis, where there is currently a lack of well-trained STEM teachers.
Researchers from historically Black Tuskegee University have received a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to improve the pattern recognition systems of military targeting guidance systems, medical diagnostics equipment, and assembly line automation. Specifically, the researchers will develop new algorithms for automatic target detection for military applications that will improve the overall accuracy of these systems. The grant will fund research opportunities for two graduate students and two undergraduate students.
The Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy within the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis has received a $150,000 gift from the Indiana University Black Philanthropy Circle. The gift will further strengthen the relationship between the institute and the IU Black Philanthropy Circle in understanding, supporting, and advocating for philanthropic giving in historically underserved communities.
