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.
Spelman College, a highly rated liberal arts college for African American women in Atlanta, received a $1 million bequest from the estate of Joan A. Johnson, a co-founder Johnson Products, the first Black-owned business traded on the American Stock Exchange. The gift will be used to support scholarships for students majoring in STEM fields, as well as for renovating instructional spaces on campus.
The University of California, Santa Cruz received a four-year, $2,630,000 grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for programs aimed at increasing diversity in the field of conservation. The grant program supports 20 early-career college students with two years of experiential training in field research and conservation leadership.
Historically Black Morehouse College in Atlanta received two donations of $500,000 from Ken and Kathryn Chenault. Ken Chenault is the former CEO of American Express. One donation will support the Dr. Hortenius Chenault Endowed Chair in Math and Science at the college. The other donation will help fund the restoration of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. The renovation project will upgrade the 41-year-old building by replacing its roof, electrical and plumbing systems, auditorium chairs, ceiling, flooring, lighting, and signage, as well as installing state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment.
Elizabeth City State University, the historically Black educational institution in North Carolina, received a $184,000 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. The grant will fund Medicaid Transition Evaluation for Eastern North Carolina project. The program will provide information to Medicaid recipients in rural counties about the many new changes in the system. University students will act at health ambassadors to inform citizens in 21 counties about how the changes will impact healthcare for African Americans. The program is under the direction of Anthony Emekalam, an assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the university. A native of Nigeria, Dr. Emekalam earned a pharmacy doctorate at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
