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 North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will open the Center for Electrochemical Dynamics and Reactions on Surfaces (CEDARS). The new center is funded by a four-year, $10.35 million grant from the Department of Energy. CEDARS will primarily focus on splitting hydrogen and oxygen from water to produce clean hydrogen for energy use.
Georgia State University has been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to launch a new initiative to increase the recruitment, retention, engagement, and support of women faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, particularly women from underrepresented groups. Florida International University will partner with Georgia State University in the effort. The ADVANCE-IMPACT (Intersectionality and Mentoring in the Professoriate for Advancement, Community and Transformation) initiative will offer leadership training and mentoring and will seek to identify policies that promote best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion at an institutional level.
Elizabeth City State University, the historically Black educational institution in North Carolina, received a $172,898 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to implement a new digital inventory and self-checkout system at the G.R. Little Library on campus. The grant will also enable the library to become a satellite office for the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center to digitize historical documents and photographs.
Historically Black Alabama A&M University received a $100,000 donation from Science Applications International Corporation that will fund scholarships for students in the university’s College of Engineering, Technology, and Physical Sciences.
The University of Alabama has received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a bridge program for students from three historically Black colleges and universities interested in opportunities in renewable energy. The program will sponsor nine undergraduate students from Stillman College, Fort Valley State University, and Jackson State University each summer of the five-year project by providing stipends, on-campus housing, and travel expenses. In addition, it is estimated that 70 Stillman students will participate in exchange activities each year during the fall and spring semesters.
