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.
Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, received a $100,000 grant from Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health to further research the connections between body image and breast cancer, specifically in the experiences of older adult African-American women’s mastectomy experiences. Project manager Harriette Richard and colleagues will conduct a series of interviews to collect demographic data as well as information regarding specific experiences with their mastectomy and how they viewed themselves after their surgeries. Dr. Richards is an associate professor of psychology at the university.
The Center for Promoting Health and Health Equity at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, has received a $1.02 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The grant funds the first year of a five-year cooperative agreement under which the center agrees to promote nutrition, physical activity, immunizations, and breastfeeding support among Omaha’s Black and Latino communities.
Historically Black Alabama State University has been awarded a $203,696 grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will fund the acquisition of a state-of-the-art X-ray diffractometer (XRD), a device for analyzing and measuring the structure of materials. XRD operates rather quickly (typically below 20 minutes) and is often the most accurate and reliable technique for the unambiguous identification of unknown materials. The new technology will help university students identify unknown substances for police and other organizations.
The University of Connecticut and the University of Maryland will share a $3.24 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to investigate structural racism, discrimination, and lived experiences on African Americans’ cancer risk, prevention, and screening behaviors. The 5-year study will build an index to measure structural racism and discrimination and provide insights into the impact of SRD on cancer-related research concerning historically underserved communities.
The Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, received a $796,428 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The university will partner with local community leaders to conduct workshops and onsite water quality assessments to find ways to reduce contaminated discharges to local aquifers. The work will be focused in East Baton Rouge and New Orleans East, two areas suffering from underinvestment. The project will also include outreach to local communities to identify and track pollution prevention strategies.
