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 $163,991 grant from the State Library of North Carolina that will provide funding for equipment and staff that will allow the library to digitize historical documents and photographs from the university’s 21-county service area throughout northeastern North Carolina. The program is under the direction of Juanita Spence, director of library services at the university.
The Center for Integrated Computing and STEM Education at the University of California, Davis received a $2.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a new initiative to introduce Black/African American girls to engineering and robotics. The Ujima Girls in Robotics Leadership Project is a free, hands-on engineering and robotics program that teaches girls in middle and high school engineering and leadership in a culturally relevant environment.
Tougaloo College, the historically Black educational institution in Mississippi, has received a $299,997 grant from the National Science Foundation for a study of stem cell markers which play a role in the growth and chemical resistance of cancer cells. The proposed work will study the molecular mechanisms of different forms of these cells to better understand the origin of tumors.
The University of Arkansas received a $170,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to hold a summer teaching institute on “The Local and International Legacies of Nelson Hackett’s Flight from Slavery, 1841-1861.” The institute will bring 36 K-12 educators from across the nation to the university to study the story of Nelson Hackett, an enslaved man who fled both Fayetteville, Arkansas, and bondage in 1841. Hackett’s flight set off an international legal battle that ensured Canada remained a haven for those escaping from slavery in the U.S. South.
Historically Black Delaware State University received a $399,994 grant from the National Science Foundation to strengthen the university’s ability to recruit, retain, and graduate underrepresented students in STEM by adding a neuroscience minor and two new undergraduate neuroscience courses.
The University of Houston received a four-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund a program to aid Black mothers who have been victims of domestic violence and their children. The university’s Mediational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers (MISC) uses video feedback to build trust and communication within families. MISC offers the steps to achieve this by breaking down daily interactions and enhancing the aspects in the interaction that strengthens a connection between mother and child.
Historically Black Alabama A&M University was recently awarded a $1 million grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. This grant will be used to establish two new scholarships, the “STEM Achievers” Scholarship and the “Start Here. Go Anywhere Endowed Scholarship.”
Tuskegee University, the historically Black educational institution n Alabama, is participating in a $20 million research project funded by the American Heart Association with the goal of finding ways to prevent high blood pressure in underserved populations. Tuskegee’s role will be beneficial in providing insight to developing solutions that address concerns such as food insecurity and limited access to recreational facilities.
