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.
The Ray Charles Foundation has donated $1 million to fund a new neurosurgery scholarship program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The Ray Charles Foundation Scholars Fund in Neurosurgery aims to promote representation and enhance diversity in the neurosciences by supporting the training of students who come from underrepresented backgrounds, with a focus on historically Black colleges and universities. The scholarship program will accept one or two MD or Ph.D. students to participate in the program every year. The scholars then will be matched with a principal investigator who will provide mentorship, guidance and career-development advice. The program is under the direction of Keith Black, chair of the department of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai.
The University of Wisconsin System has been awarded a $450,000 grant from the nonprofit Lumina Foundation to build what the system calls “clearer pathways” to degrees and other professional credentials for adults and people of color.
Historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C., announced a $4 million grant from the Hopper-Dean Foundation to fund the Bison STEM Scholars Program. The donation will provide 10 computer science or computer engineering students with a full scholarship for four years. In addition to student scholarships, the gift includes $1 million designated to the President’s Innovation Fund to support future programs and initiatives related to STEM education. The donation is the largest received by the university from a foundation.
