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.
The Metro Jackson Community Prevention Coalition at Jackson State University in Mississippi was awarded a $304,488 substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery services grant from the Mississippi Department of Mental Health’s Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Services. The grant aims to provide evidence-based substance abuse prevention services to local schools, colleges, and communities. The program is under the direction of Henry Thompson, director of the Metro Jackson Community Prevention Coalition.
Historically Black Hampton University in Virginia has been awarded a $1,760,000 grant from the Simons Foundation to help develop a new stellarator experiment group to advance research in fusion plasma science. The stellarator is one of the technologies scientists believe could lead to real-world fusion power. A stellarator is a machine that uses magnetic fields to confine plasma in the shape of a donut, called a torus. These magnetic fields allow scientists to control the plasma particles and create the right conditions for fusion reactions.
Lincoln University, the historically Black educational institution in Pennsylvania, received a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to establish the Undergraduate Center for Forensic Science. The goal of the center is to promote diversity in STEM fields while providing students with the foundational skills necessary to excel in forensic science graduate programs and/or crime laboratories.
Historically Black Coppin State University in Baltimore received $1 million from the U.S. Department of Education to support and train educators to improve overall reading, math, and social-emotional outcomes for school-age children with disabilities in Maryland, including children of color and those who are multilingual. The Maryland State Department of Education reports that in 2022, 12 percent of students enrolled in Maryland public schools had a disability and nearly 64 percent of children with a learning disability were children of color. Half of the children with an emotional disability were identified as Black or African American. Project POSE (Preparing Outstanding Special Educators) will train and support nearly two dozen aspiring educators as they earn all certifications and credentials needed to teach students with disabilities in Maryland schools.
