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.
Bowie State University in Maryland received a $541,075 grant from the National Science Foundation to expand an international undergraduate research program in food security and sustainable agriculture. The initiative brings together undergraduates from the HBCU and other institutions in the U.S. to travel to Egerton University in Kenya, where they conduct research on underutilized food crops with the potential to improve food security, agricultural sustainability, and climate resilience. The research experience combines laboratory work, field research, and cultural immersion.
A research team from North Carolina A&T State University in part of a new National Science Foundation Biobased Rural Innovation for Domestic Growth and Economic Security (NSF BRIDGES) Engine that will receive up to $160 million in funding over the next decade. Led by HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Alabama, the collaborative aims to transform locally grown resources in Alabama and Tennessee into robust and resilient bioeconomies, ultimately using those efforts to enhance crop production throughout the southeast. The NCA&T team, who will receive a $400,000 sub-award, will focus on the program’s workforce development component, while contributing their expertise in sustainable biomanufacturing and biorenewable materials.
Three Alabama-based historically Black community colleges, Drake State Community & Technical College, Trenholm State Community College, and Lawson State Community College, have received a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant for their joint project, “Semiconductor Exposure, Exploration, and Development (SEED): Collaborative to Broaden Participation in STEM Education.” The SEED Collaborative aims to create new STEM education initiatives and workforce development opportunities within the semiconductor and advanced technology sectors.
