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.
More than 700 women die each year from pregnancy-related complications in the United States, even though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says two out of three of those deaths are preventable. Pregnancy risks are especially high among women in populations that have been historically underserved. Black women in the U.S., according to the CDC, are more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than any other demographic. The Yale School of Public Health and Yale Medical School received a $20.4 million grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute in Washington, D.C. The grant will allow researchers to compare the effectiveness of two community-based interventions designed to improve clinical outcomes among postpartum at-risk women. The two health care delivery models at the center of the study focus on awareness, early detection, and control of postpartum hypertension, as well as social and mental health factors known to impact maternal health.
Historically Black South Carolina State University received a $290,000 grant from the U.S. Army to support the university’s academic programs in transportation, industrial engineering, and civil engineering. The grant will fund the purchase and retrofit of a vehicle for experimentation in off-road autonomous driving.
The Environmental and Natural Resources Law program at Emory University in Atlanta has received a gift from the Kazmarek Mowrey Cloud Laseter to establish a new diversity, equity and inclusion initiative to promote broader diversity in the practice of environmental law. The new initiative will provide annual scholarships and summer stipends to students who will bring diversity to the environmental bar. The program will also provide these students with opportunities to engage with prominent environmental attorneys, community and business leaders, government officials, and scholars through conferences, workshops, or other formal and informal convenings.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the historically Black educational institution in Princess Anne, received a $500,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to continue the digital conversion and organization of archival material in the university’s Frederick Douglass Library.
Historically Black Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, received a $1 million federal grant that will contribute to the creation of the Ida B. Wells Social Justice and Interpretive Center on the historic Mississippi Industrial College campus, which Rust College purchased in 2008.
North Carolina Central University, the historically Black educational institution in Durham, received a gift of $1.5 million from Lowe’s Companies, Inc. The award will name the 200-person auditorium in the School of Business’ new facility and also name a new academic program. The gift is the largest received to date for the new 70,000 square foot building that is currently under construction. Upon completion in late 2022, it will occupy 4.58 acres on the northwest perimeter of the university’s campus. The money will also be used to develop a new academic program in the school and provide curriculum development, faculty recruitment, and student scholarships.
