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 Coppin State University in Baltimore received a five-year, $983,146 grant from the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission and the Maryland Higher Education Commission to establish a doctor of nursing practice program for students who hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing. The goal is to increase the diversity of advanced practice nurses with a doctoral degree. The program is under the direction of Joan Tilghman, associate dean of the School of Nursing at Coppin State University.
Verizon has announced that it is establishing a $1 million scholarship program for women students at five historically Black universities. The Verizon Game Forward Scholarship aims to increase female representation in gaming and STEM fields. Five women at each participating university – Delaware State University, Dillard University, Howard University, Morgan State University, and Texas Southern University – will receive scholarships. The 25 scholarship recipients will also be guaranteed internships at top tech and gaming companies, including Verizon and its partners. The program will also fund the creation of tech centers on the campuses of the partnering HBCUs, which will be accessible to the entire school.
Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, has received a $ 650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will support Bryant’s new STEM scholarship program, which funds scholarships and programs to remove barriers to success in STEM education for academically gifted students with proven financial hardship, particularly women, minority, and low-income students.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a historically Black educational institution in Princess Anne, received a three-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. Navy for research on biofilm formation, or fouling. Biofilms, which lead to the attachment of barnacles, cause millions of dollars of damage to naval ships and platforms each year and contribute to ecological changes with the potential to cause fish mortality and algal blooms. The university will use the $1 million to study the use of natural plants for antifouling protection.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham has received a $3.1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to support research on the epigenetic contribution to the risk of a condition called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, known as MGUS, in African Americans. MGUS is a condition in which an abnormal protein formed within the bone marrow is found in the blood. MGUS is a precursor to multiple myeloma, the most common blood cancer affecting African Americans.
The University of Kentucky College of Medicine received a five-year, $2.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to conduct research on how local policies impact at-risk groups — including communities of color, low-income populations, and youth — that are more likely to use flavored tobacco products. According to the Truth Initiative, nearly 90 percent of all Black smokers use menthol cigarettes. The study is being led by Shyanika Rose, an assistant professor in the department of behavioral science at the university
