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 $1.98 million Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant was awarded to Prairie View A&M University to support a workforce development initiative that prepares students for careers in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Led by scholars at the HBCU’s Roy G. Perry College of Engineering with support from the Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute, the program will provide hands-on training in advanced semiconductor processes, design tools, and simulation technologies used in modern chip manufacturing.
The department of African American studies at the University of Houston in Texas has received a $200,000 donation from the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. The majority of the new funds will support the department’s William Alexander Lawson Social Justice Endowed Scholarship for undergraduate students. The remaining funds will go towards the EMERGE Leadership Academy, a two-week summer program that prepares high school juniors and seniors with essential academic, professional, and leadership skills.
Historically Black Florida A&M University recently received a two-year, $321,000 subaward as part of an Office of Naval Research initiative to develop a diverse STEM workforce to tackle emerging environmental and national security challenges. The funds come from a $9.8 million grant awarded to Purdue University’s ONR Blue Integrated Partnership program. At FAMU, the grant will support student research and workforce development in geospatial science, nearshore mapping, and AI-enabled marine sensing.
Historically Black Bowie State University in Maryland has received a $6.5 million unrestricted gift from Elior Collegiate Dining to support the student experience and modernize campus infrastructure. The donation will fund student scholarships, as well as renovations to student dining spaces and learning environments.
