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 liberal arts educational institution for Black women in Atlanta, received a $10 million gift from hedge fund investor Seth Klarman and his wife Beth. The funds will be used for scholarships with an emphasis on helping students overcome the financial barriers that may prevent them from graduating.
Claflin University, the historically Black educational institution in Orangeburg, South Carolina, received a five-year, $700,000 grant from the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization sponsored by the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S.Department of Energy. The funds are earmarked for programs to prepare undergraduate students to fill diverse advanced education, research, and career opportunities. The grant program is under the direction of Karina Liles, assistant professor of computer science and director of the Social Technologies and Robotics Lab at the university.
Historically Black Fort Valley State University in Georgia received a five-year, $2,250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to recruit and retain 80 undergraduates over five years and provide mentoring, academic support and knowledge in advanced graduate research in genome engineering and computational data science.
Miles College, the historically Black educational institution in Fairfield, Alabama, received a five-year, $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support advising, mentoring, tutoring, and retention-based services designed to increase graduation and persistence rates.
Historically Black Howard University received a four-year, $450,000 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture to further research into 3D food printing for legumes and cereals. The goal of the research is to develop eco-friendly bioseparation technologies for the production of novel plant-based protein-rich snack foods free of chemical residues
The department of architecture at historically Black Tuskegee University in Alabama received a donation of $100,000 from the Cooper Carry Charitable Foundation, Inc. The gift will be used for scholarships for African American students in architecture. The foundation is the charitable wing of the Cooper Carry architectural firm, located in Atlanta, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Historically Black Kentucky State University received a four-year, $1,250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a program that will include innovative teaching, research, student support, and pedagogical practices to prepare students from underserved communities for a future in the STEM workforce.
Alabama State University, the historically Black educational institution in Montgomery, has received a $200,000 award from the National Science Foundation to conduct a two-year program aimed at receiving accreditation for the department of forensic science through the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission.
