Here is this week’s news of grants to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.
Historically Black Florida A&M University in Tallahassee has been awarded a three-year, $1.9 milllion grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. The grant will support several research projects at the university on defense-related issues including reduction in jet engine noise and the manufacture of stronger, lighter-weight materials.
Brown University has a received a two-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a study of obesity among minority children. The grant program will be under the direction of Akilah Dunlin Keita, an assistant professor in the department of behavioral and social sciences. Dr. Keita holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Alabama Birmingham.
With financial support from the American Express Foundation, New York University‘s Research Center for Leadership in Action has established the Ignite Fellowship for Women of Color in the Social Sector. The program will offer nine-month fellowships for 35 women of color in nonprofit organizations across the United States. The women will have the opportunity to learn best practices and develop leaderships skills in addition to networking with a large number of their peers.
Bethany Godsoe, executive director of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU, stated, “Women of color who are heading up nonprofits are doing some of the most groundbreaking, complex and too often, under-recognized, work in the field. We are thrilled to support them at this mid-career stage, giving them space to reflect back on what they have accomplished and equipping them to reach the next level of impact going forward.”