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.
Fayetteville State University in North Carolina received a $345,631 federal investment through the 2026 fiscal year Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill. The new funding will allow the HBCU to upgrade its research equipment for detecting water contaminants, including synthetic chemicals found in many consumer products that accumulate in the environment and the human body.
Vincent Fondong, professor of biological science at historically Black Delaware State University, was awarded a $1.13 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to advance the understanding of a virus that adversely impacts potato farming. For his project, Dr. Fondong and his team will study a protein found in the Potato Virus Y, which is primarily sourced from infected seed potatoes that are reintroduced each year through planting.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff received a $512,925 award from the Walton Family Foundation to expand the HBCU’s Emerging Scholars Leadership Institute, which provides students with internship placement, mentorship, public speaking development, and professional skill-building opportunities. Since its launch in 2023, the institute has achieved a 100 percent internship placement rate, and 98 percent of participants have secured full-time employment or enrolled in advanced studies after completing the program.
Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville received a $850,000 federal grant to support major renovations at its Westover Campus. The grant will go towards the construction of a new educational hub that will significantly enhance the HBCU’s opportunities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
The School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley received a $500,000 award through the University of California System’s 2026 UC-HBCU Initiative. The grant will support a seven-week summer research experience for undergraduate students at Morehouse College in Atlanta and Talladega College in Alabama. Participating students from these historically Black colleges will work directly with Berkeley professors on education research projects.
