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.
A collaborative project between scholars at West Virginia University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Maine has received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to support self-employment and entrepreneurship among women and Black people in rural areas, who significantly lag behind White men’s rate of employment. The study aims to investigate why these disparities exist and help rural regions establish initiatives that facilitate successful entrepreneurship in their communities.
The College of Public Health at George Mason University in Virginia has received a $70,906 grant from the National Institutes of Health to test an AI chatbot program for Black Americans with depression. The already developed chatbot is currently used to recommend antidepressant treatments for the general population. The research team at George Mason University will study the chatbot’s effectiveness in its recommendations for African American patients.
Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically Black institution in Louisville, has received a $750,000 grant from the National Park Service to renovate an on-campus building, Stewart Hall. The building was constructed in the 1920s and is inscribed with the name of the college’s president at the time, Charles Parrish.
Grambling State University, an HBCU in Louisiana, has been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to enhance the school’s undergraduate STEM offerings. The funds will be used to establish multiple summer STEM programs for K-12 students and teachers, create an undergraduate certificate in STEM entrepreneurship, and develop research partnerships with universities and external labs.
The Division of Enrollment Management and Student Success at historically Black Morgan State University in Baltimore has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Student Success to improve student retention and graduation rates. The funding will be used to implement standardized academic advising systems, improve operations for the university’s student support offices, and provide up-to-date training for student affairs staff.
The School of Nursing at historically Black North Carolina A&T State University has received a two-year $2.36 million grant from the University of North Carolina System’s Health Care Workforce Nursing Program Expansion Initiative. The funds will go towards the establishment of a mobile clinic for rural North Carolina communities, which will provide doctor of nursing practice students with opportunities for clinical practice hours. Another portion of the funding will support tutoring efforts in chemistry for undergraduate nursing students.
Texas Southern University has received a $5 million donation from the Majors Charitable Fund. Roughly $4.3 million will be used to establish the Majors Charitable Fund Endowment, aimed at improving student retention and academic opportunities. The HBCU’s Office of Civil Rights will contribute an additional $1.5 million to the new endowment. The remaining $680,000 of the new donation will be used by the aviation program to purchase a new aircraft for training student pilots.
