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.
Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina has received a $100,000 gift from Family Fare Convenience Stores to establish the Family Fare Endowed Entrepreneurship Program Fund. The fund is designed to support experiential learning opportunities for students in the HBCU’s business school.
Virginia State University was awarded $1.03 million in federal funding to establish a new Center for Generative AI and Industrial Cybersecurity. The center will focus its work on understanding and managing the risks of AI as well as exploring ways AI can help protect critical systems by detecting unusual activity and preventing cyberattacks. Students and faculty at the HBCU will also have access to advanced AI tools and powerful computing systems, enabling them to build and test their own AI models.
Delaware State University received a $543,000 grant from the U.S. Department of War Research and Education Program for HBCUs and Minority-Serving Institutions to fund the purchase of a Sputter Deposition System (SDS) for ongoing research at the HBCU. The SDS will provide Delaware State with the necessary technology to train students in microfabrication. It will also be used in interdisciplinary research projects focused on semiconductor materials and devices design, modeling, fabrication, and characterization.
Alabama State University received a $50,000 donation from Hyundai’s Genesis Gives program to advance STEM education at the HBCU. The funding will support the university’s mechanical engineering program and its STEM summer program, which engages students as early as middle school.
Bowie State University was awarded a $725,000 grant from the Maryland Energy Administration to support a comprehensive clean energy initiative aimed at expanding renewable energy use, strengthening academic offerings, and preparing students for careers in the growing energy sector. Over the next several years, Bowie State will install some 165 kilowatts of solar energy capacity across campus and develop an ongoing plan to guide long-term sustainability and energy planning efforts. In addition to infrastructure improvements, the funding will also support the creation of three workforce training programs designed to prepare students for careers in the clean energy industry.
