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.
Nissan has donated $250,000 to seven historically Black colleges and universities in Mississippi to fund various projects aimed at increasing STEM learning and research opportunities for HBCU students and their local communities. The grant awardees are Alcorn State University, Coahoma Community College, Hinds Community College-Utica, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Rust College, and Tougaloo College.
North Carolina A&T State University has received a $20 million gift from an anonymous donor. The funding will support the historically Black university in establishing scholarships for the upcoming academic year, creating endowed professorships in artificial intelligence, developing international academic opportunities, and enhancing the university’s Chancellor’s Speaker Series. The donation is the second-largest gift ever received in university history.
The College of Agriculture at historically Black Tennessee State University has received five grants ranging from $449,000 to $600,000 from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture at the United States Department of Agriculture. The grants will be used to support various sustainable agricultural and environmental research projects.
Kentucky State University has receive a $7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create a state-wide research network for soil-less food systems, aiming to study their benefits on agriculture, climate change, and access to fresh food. The grant is the largest federal grant ever received by the historically Black university.
South Carolina State University has received $8 million in state funding to support the historically Black university’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Transportation and the Savannah River National Laboratory. The grant will be used to hire 12 research faculty and establish undergraduate scholarships, internships, and summer workshops.
A team of researchers at historically Black Delaware State University has received $600,000 for their part in a multi-university effort to establish a Feed for the Future Climate Resilient Cereals Innovational Lab. The project aims to advance agricultural efforts of four major world crops to make cereal crops more accessible in countries at risk for hunger and malnutrition.
Philander Smith University in Little Rock, Arkansas, has received a $200,000 grant from Synchrony Bank to support students in the historically Black university’s division of business. Over the next two years, the funds will be used to create scholarships, mentorships, internships, career training initiatives, and financial literacy workshops for underrepresented students.
