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 Delaware State University received a three-year, $672,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research on wadsleyite and ringwoodite, two prominent minerals found at depths of 410 to 660 kilometers below the earth’s surface in an area known as the transition zone. The project is under the direction of Gabriel Gwanmesia, a professor of physics and engineering. He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in geophysics and seismology from Stony Brook University in New York.
The Midwest Nursing History Research Center at the College of Nursing at the University of Illinois Chicago received a grant from the Chicago-based Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation to create the Chicago Black Nurses Archive Mapping project, a publicly accessible, Black-centered history of nursing in Chicago.
Morgan State University, a historically Black educational institution in Baltimore, has received a $5-million grant from Google to help create pathways and opportunities for increased diverse representation in the STEM-related professions. The grant will provide the university with financial support for scholarships, technological infrastructure support, career readiness, and curriculum development.
The Center for Women’s and Gender Studies at Florida International University received a five-year, $1.37 million grant from the Children’s Trust to combat racial bias in maternal health. The grant will fund implicit racial bias training workshops for medical professionals and students, put on annual programming in April in honor of Black Maternal Health Week, and lead two major Black maternal health and wellness fairs.
The department of economics at historically Black Howard University in Washington D.C. received a $1.4 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that will be used to strengthen student recruitment and research opportunities, faculty development and training, and the department’s infrastructure. The grant program will fund annual fellowships for six undergraduate students, eight doctoral students, and one postdoctoral researcher starting in the Fall 2021 semester. Department faculty members will benefit from access to conferences, seminars, and workshops, including travel support.
