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.
Morehouse College, the historically Black educational institution for men in Atlanta, received a $1 million donation from basketball legend Michael Jordan. The gift will help fund scholarships, technology, and educational programming for students studying journalism and sports-related areas of study. “Education is crucial for understanding the Black experience today,” said Michael Jordan. “We want to help people understand the truth of our past, and help tell the stories that will shape our future.”
Historically Black Alabama State University has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research for programs to help increase diversity among the students and employees involved in cybersecurity. The objective of this project is to expose highly qualified Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) students from underrepresented groups to advanced topics in cybersecurity through undergraduate research in state-of-the-art methodologies.
Auburn University in Alabama has been awarded a five-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to broaden participation in the sciences for traditionally underrepresented students and diversify the pool of scientists earning doctoral degrees in the biomedical sciences. Funds from the grant will offset the cost of stipends, tuition, fees, and training-related expenses, including health insurance, for students accepted into the program.
The Windgate Foundation has awarded a two-year grant of $469,420 to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to support teacher preparation programs for students through its Educator Preparation Program. The historically Black university aims to increase the number of highly effective educators by supporting the implementation of evidence-based practices that prepare, develop, and strengthen the skills of students through a transformative competency-based curriculum.
Historically Black Delaware State University received a three-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will fund fellowships for four Ph.D. students whose research combines biology and neuroscience with optical imaging and bio-photonic research techniques.
A new five-year, $1.9 million grant from the Peterson Foundation will support the department of economics at historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. and the Women’s Institute on Science, Race and Equity (WISER) in their innovative work to increase diversity in the field of economics and promote greater inclusion in fiscal and economic policymaking. The grant will fund an expansion and enhancement of the American Economic Association Summer Training Program, which is designed to prepare Black and students from other underrepresented groups for graduate programs in economics.
