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.
Vanderbilt University in Nashville received a $150,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to help fund the excavation of a historic Nashville neighborhood and put together a collection of the oral histories of the neighborhood’s descendants. The Bass Street neighborhood, founded by Black Civil War veterans, was demolished about 60 years ago for the construction of Interstate 65.
Historically Black Norfolk State University in Virginia received a $1 million donation from Conrad M. Hall to establish an endowed professorship in constitutional and U.S. history. Hall, a member of the university’s board of visitors, is the former CEO of Dominion Enterprises, a media, marketing, and information services firm for the automotive, real estate, and travel industries.
Seattle University received a three-year, $495,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a faculty project to create new courses that address race, racialization, and resistance in the United States. The project will enhance the faculty’s ability to teach about race, racialization, and resistance and work to provide students and faculty with a more comprehensive understanding of current and past social issues.
Historically Black Lincoln University in Pennsylvania received a $100,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education for programs to partner with local school districts to expedite the process for students to become special education teachers. Individuals who currently hold bachelor’s degrees will have summer field experiences and be mentored by experienced special education experts during the school year. The goal is for students in the program to obtain a PK-12 special education teacher certification within 18 months.
