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.
Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan, has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to explore the viability of establishing a humanities-based diversity and inclusion certificate program at the university. Researchers aim to create a program that aims to infuse core elements from the humanities into traditional professional diversity and inclusion certificate programs. They will focus their efforts on curriculum design, course delivery, accessibility, and marketing. The grant is under the direction of Leland Harper, an assistant professor of philosophy at the university.
Historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. and the University of California, Los Angeles will share a $1.7 million grant from the CDC Foundation for research that will study COVID-19-related stigma and discrimination in communities of concern, and provide real-time information for public health officials, members of the public, and policymakers to help them reach populations at increased risk by building trust between essential and frontline workers and the communities they serve.
Jackson State University, the historically Black educational institution in Mississippi, has been awarded a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in conjunction with the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists to support cardiovascular disease-prevention programs at HBCUs. Brenda Jenkins, director of training and education at Jackson State is the director of the grant project.
Historically Black Alabama State University in Montgomery received a $175,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for the acquisition of a scanning electron microscope for materials research and education at the university. The grant will enable the university to conduct research such as working on the development of lightweight, high-performance materials for the U. S. Air Force.
Bennett College, the historically Black educational institution for women in Greensboro, North Carolina, has received a $75,000 grant from the GoodUse program to create a smart, energy-efficient, and sustainable campus. Bennett College will create its first Climate Change Action Plan. The college seeks to reduce its carbon footprint, divert waste through recycling and composting, renovate campus buildings, and empower students and the community to advocate for environmental justice.
Billionaire philanthropist John Brown and his wife, Rosemary, plan to give $5 million to the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta to attract women and minority graduate students. The new Rosemary and John Brown Family Scholars Program will provide scholarships to Goizueta’s graduate programs for alumnae of Spelman College. John Brown is the longtime CEO and chairman of the medical device company Stryker Corporation.
