HBCUs Receive Major Funding From Blue Meridian Partners
The HBCU Transformation Project is a collaboration between the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), and Partnership for Education Advancement. Forty HBCUs are currently working with the project and additional campuses are expected to join this year. The partnership recently received a $124 million investment from Blue Meridian Partners.
U.S. News and World Report’s Latest Rankings of the Nation’s Top HBCUs
Spelman College in Atlanta was ranked as the best HBCU and Howard University in Washington, D.C., was second. This was the same as a year ago. This was the 17th year in a row that Spelman College has topped the U.S. News rankings for HBCUs.
Early Shaw University Dean and Acting President Honored With Historical Marker
During a 50-year tenure at the educational institution, Nicholas Franklin Roberts (1849-1934) served as Shaw’s dean of faculty, dean of the School of Theology, vice president, and acting president from November 1893 to March 1894.
Xavier University Students Win Department of Homeland Security’s Invent2Prevent Competition
The Invent2Prevent program encourages student teams at the high school or college level to develop innovative projects that seek to prevent targeted violence and terrorism in local communities. The Xavier students presented their project, “Still We R.O.S.E (Recognizing Our Shared Experience),” aimed at bridging the misunderstanding between Black and Jewish communities due to controversial statements made by certain Black celebrities.
Voorhees University Gains Approval to Offer a New MBA Program
The MBA program will be offered online, with the first cohort to begin classes in January 2024. Under the new MBA program, Voorhees will offer minors in human resource management and data analytics.
Spelman College Establishes a Student Exchange Program With the Berklee College of Music
The mission of the Berklee-Spelman exchange program is to promote educational opportunities in music and liberal arts to female-identifying students of African descent; to facilitate cultural and social integration through the study of music performance, theory, and history, with a specific focus on jazz and contemporary music; and to increase the participation of African American women in jazz.
Prairie View A&M Debuts New Master’s Degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
The master's degree program in natural resources and environmental sciences is the first new degree program at what is now the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources in the past 25 years.
Howard University Completing Work on the Renovation of the Home of Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell's home at 326 T Street NW in Washington, D.C. was built in 1894. She and her husband Robert Heberton Terrell, an educator and law professor at Howard University occupied the home between 1899 and 1913. In accordance with Terrell's wishes, the home was bestowed to Howard University in 1987. With the help of a federal grant, the home is now being restored.
Fort Valley State Students Get Clear Pathway to Pharmacy Doctorate at the University of...
Historically Black Fort Valley State University and the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy signed an agreement allowing undergraduate chemistry students at Fort Valley State to gain an earlier start in graduate programs in this critical healthcare field, resulting in overall cost savings.
Coppin State University to Offer In-State Tuition Rates to Many Students From Outside Maryland
Historically Black Coppin State University in Baltimore announced new full-time undergraduate degree-seeking students admitted to the university from more than 30 states and U.S. territories outside of Maryland, will be eligible to pay in-state tuition upon enrollment. For the 2022-23 academic year, tuition at Coppin State was $6,904 for Maryland residents and $13,560 for students from outside Maryland.
New Course on AI in Basketball Is Being Offered to Atlanta University Center Consortium...
The for-credit class on artificial intelligence in sports, which launches this fall on Morehouse’s campus, will welcome students from Morehouse, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University who have chosen majors in the areas of math, physics, and engineering.
Maryland Puts Towson University Ph.D. Program Opposed by Morgan State University on Hold
In June, the Maryland Higher Education Commission by a vote of 4 to 3 approved the establishment of a business analytics doctoral program at Towson University. The new program was opposed by officials at historically Black Morgan State University. Now the state attorney general said the vote to approve the program is not valid because there was not a required quorum.
Building a Next Generation Platform for Online Education at HBCUs
The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is partnering with the Axim Collaborative – a joint endeavor of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – to develop HBCU Virtual, or HBCUv, a new platform to expand digital learning and equitable access to education for historically Black colleges and universities.
Grambling State University to Host Sports Administration Graduate Students From Ghana
The initial cohort of students from Ghana will come to study in Grambling State’s graduate program in sports administration. It is hoped that the first students will being their programs at Grambling State in January.
Three HBCUs Receive Major Funding to Address Racial Health Disparities
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Meharry Medical College, and Xavier University of Louisiana will receive funds to support research education for students from diverse backgrounds, particularly those from underrepresented groups, and encourage faculty members to pursue research in basic biomedical, behavioral, population, and clinical/health services fields.
Two Alabama HBCUs Team Up to Provide Greater Educational Opportunities for Black Students
Under the agreement, graduates of Trenholm State Community College will be able to transfer their credits and complete a four-year bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University. As part of the agreement, Tuskegee will award three transfer students scholarships every fall.
Texas Southern University Achieves Aviation Accreditation Board International Approval
Texas Southern University’s aviation program has been professionally accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International. The university becomes just the second HBCU in history to achieve AABI accreditation. Texas Southern joins the ranks of 43 other aviation programs around the world and now boasts the only AABI-accredited aviation program in the state of Texas.
Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, Transitions to University Status
Founded in 1877, Philander Smith College was the first attempt west of the Mississippi River to make education available to freedmen (former African American slaves). Philander Smith College was chartered as a four-year college on March 3, 1883. The first baccalaureate degree was conferred in 1888.
Delaware State University to Host the Joint Center for HBCU Non-Traditional Completion
The center will take lessons learned from a three-year pilot program serving near completers and adult learners, and support other HBCUs in their efforts to recruit and support adult learners who have some college but who have not earned their degrees.
Historically Black Jarvis Christian University Partners With Tyler Junior College
Historically Black Jarvis Christian University in Hawkins, Texas, has entered into an agreement with Tyler Junior College that will allow for seamless transition into bachelor's degree programs at the university for Tyler Junior College graduates. Tyler Junior College enrolls just under 12,000 students. Blacks make up 16 percent of the student body.
Simmons College of Kentucky Joins the University of Louisville in Health Equity Project
Historically Black Simmons College of Kentucky and the University of Louisville are embarking on a new project to determine what characteristics of a neighborhood contribute to the health of its residents. In Louisville’s predominantly Black communities, life expectancy is as much as 12.6 years less than in the most affluent, predominantly White communities.
There Will Now Be a HBCU Marching Band National Championship Competition
HBCU marching bands from Division I and Division II will compete throughout the season to earn the right to showcase their talent in Atlanta and vie for the coveted title, 'Band of the Year.'
Xavier University of Louisiana Acquires the Archives of Bishop Fernard Cheri III
The Archives and Special Collections unit at the library of historically Black Xavier University in New Orleans has announced that it has been selected to house the archival collection of one of the university's distinguished graduates, Bishop Fernand Cheri, III. Bishop Cheri died earlier this year at the age of 71.
Ida B. Wells Society at Morehouse College Gets a New Leader
The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting at Morehouse College in Atlanta announced the appointment of Robbie Morganfield as its new executive director....
Grambling State University to Receive Major Funding for Campus Renovations
The state of Louisiana’s construction budget sets aside $5.6 million in high-priority funding and another $64 million in the future for the university to build a new computer science building, renovate an old structure into a new criminal justice building, overhaul the campus’s utility systems, and re-roof many buildings.
Morgan State University Aims to Help Food Entrepreneurs in Baltimore
Morgan State University, in partnership with the City of Baltimore, has announced the creation of Open Access Baltimore, a free one-stop-shop online portal for student and community food entrepreneurs to find and utilize local resources for capital, permitting and licensing, and training that will help them plan, launch, and grow their businesses.
Six HBCUs Receive Funding for Historic Preservation of Campus Buildings
Six historically Black colleges and universities are receiving grants from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historial Preservation to preserve historic buildings on campus.
Tennessee State University Adds a New Master’s Degree Program in Agribusiness
The College of Agriculture at historically Black Tennessee State University has announced the establishment of a new master's degree program in agribusiness and leadership degree program. The new program, which will enroll its first students this fall will be offered both in person and online, with and without a thesis option.
Morgan State University Opposes New Ph.D. Program at Nearby Towson University
Two years ago, the state approved a $577 million settlement to enhance the state's four HBCUs. The money is being used, in part, to expand academic programs and course offerings. Duplicate programs at predominately White institutions do harm to the efforts of HBCUs to attract a diverse group of students to their campuses, according to opponents of the new program at Towson.
HBCUs Team Up With the U.S. Forest Service to Increase Diversity of Firefighters
Florida A&M University, Southern University in Louisiana, Tuskegee University in Alabama, and Alabama A&M University have joined together with the U.S. Forest Service to create the 1890 Land Grant Institution Wildland Fire Consortium.
Alabama A&M Teams Up With a Community College to Boost Social Work Education
The presidents of historically Black Alabama A&M University and Calhoun Community College signed an agreement establishing a partnership between the two educational institutions to create a seamless transition to AAMU for Calhoun students with an interest in social work career paths.
Southern University to Begin a Registered Apprenticeship Teachers Program
In an effort to recruit, train, and retain qualified educators in Louisiana, the Louisiana Workforce Commission has partnered with Southern University and A&M College for its first Registered Apprenticeship Teachers program. Registered Apprenticeship has programs operating in seven other states. Southern University is the first HBCU to be involved in the effort.
Attorneys Representing Florida A&M Students Revise Lawsuit That Alleges Racial Discrimination
In September 2022, six students at historically Black Florida A&M University in Tallahassee filed a federal class-action lawsuit claiming that the university was a victim of racial discrimination by the state. In June, a federal judge said that attorneys would have to provide more evidence to show that alleged discrimination could be traced to segregation in order for the litigation to proceed. A revised suit has now been filed.
Paine College Secures Partners to Help “Preserve, Transform, and Elevate the Institution”
Historically Black Paine College in Augusta, Georgia has announced a historic partnership with education company EAB, the United Negro College Fund, Bank of America, the Augusta National Golf Club, and the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area.
Halifax Community College Cybersecurity Students Can Transfer to North Carolina Central University
The School of Business at historically Black North Carolina Central University and Halifax Community College have entered into a new partnership aimed to enhance...
Tennessee State University Will Be the First HBCU to Have an Ice Hockey Team
TSU Hockey will commence its inaugural season in 2024, signaling a new era for the university. The team will begin as a club-level program but aspires to achieve NCAA Division I status for both men’s and women’s sides in the near future.
