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 Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina received a $358,000 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation to launch a two-year workforce training program. The program will teach employment skills, but also helps steer young people ages 18-24 toward a possible college education. The program, named “Project Gap,” will work to fill the gap in the workforce throughout the Northeastern North Carolina region.
The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, a collaboration between Florida State University and historically Black Florida A&M University, received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop new drug-loadable bio-adhesives. Biomedical adhesives stably bind two tissue surfaces to replace and enhance surgical suturing. The grant will also fund a new summer research program for engineering undergraduates at the college and local K-12 students.
Historically Black Alcorn State University in Mississippi, received a $55.000 grant from Nissan North America to provide resources for students in STEM disciplines.
Meharry Medical College in Nashville received a $1.4 million grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. The grant money will be used to develop motivational treatment strategies for African-American women with Type 2 diabetes living in the Southeastern U.S. The study is under the direction of Stephania T. Miller-Hughes, an associate professor in the department of surgery at Meharry Medical College. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas for Medical Science.
Boston University received a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the Vertex Foundation to support the university’s new Center for Antiracist Research. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Boston-based global biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The grant program is under the direction of Ibram X. Kendi, a professor of history at the university and the head of the new center.
Crown Castle International Corporation announced a $1 million donation to the United Negro College Fund as part of the company’s Connected by Good program. Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers across the United States. Another $1 million was donated by Jay Brown, CEO of the corporation. The funds will be used to support the scholarship programs of the UNCF.
