American Council of Learned Societies Debuts New Grant Program for Faculty at HBCUs
The new program will seek to advance the scholarly contributions of humanities and interpretive social sciences faculty at historically Black colleges and universities. For three years, ACLS will award 12 grants of up to $10,000 each for research project development, and eight fellowships of up to $50,000 each to support deeper engagement with a significant research project.
Auditor Details Financial Shortcomings at Kentucky State University
Mike Harmon, auditor for the Commonwealth of Kentucky has released a report that found $2.7 million withdrawn from internal endowed funds to supplement cash balances, undocumented credit card transactions, wasteful spending on extravagant bonuses and benefits, and crippling budget and procurement failures all occurring in a chaotic accounting environment.
Morris Brown College Graduates Now Have A Clear Path to Law School
Under the agreement, Morris Brown students will be able to seek application guidance from the Office of Admissions at John Marshall Law School and eligible applicants who meet the standard admissions criteria will receive priority law school admission.
Saint Augustine’s University Enhances Its Partnership With Wake Tech Community College
Since 2012, the two institutions have offered transfer options for Wake graduates in business administration and criminal justice technology. According to the new agreement, graduates of any associate degree program at Wake Tech can now transfer up to 64 credits toward a four-year degree in an applicable degree program at the private historically Black university.
Columbia University Teams Up With Southern University for Faculty Development
The new partnership that will facilitate faculty research collaborations; exchange and experiential learning programs for students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty; and innovation and economic development initiatives.
Alabama State University Partners With South University for Pharmacy Diversity
Data shows that at present, only 7.6 percent of the registered pharmacist in the nation are members of a minority community. In 2023, only 143 pharmacy students in the U.S. are African-American. This new agreement hopes to encourage more Black students to pursue pharmacy doctorates.
Morgan State University to Lead Consortium to Conduct Transportation Reseach
Morgan State University is the first historically Black college or university and the first university in Maryland to lead a U.S. Department of Transportation Regional University Transportation Center. Researchers will explore novel applications for emerging technologies, such as machine learning, automated vehicles, and electric vehicles, to strengthen the region’s transportation network.
Colorado Community College Systems Partners With Two Historically Black Universities
The system's signature Bridge to Bachelor’s Degree Program guarantees new, first-time students admission to participating four-year institutions upon completion of an associate degree at a Colorado community college. Saint Augustine's University and Texas Southern University will become the system’s first out-of-state transfer options.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore to Offer Two New Degree Programs
The historically Black university has announced the creation of an art therapy program and a music production program. The programs are expected to be launched in the fall of 2024. The new interdisciplinary academic programs will both be firsts in the University System of Maryland.
An Alumni Group at Tougaloo College in Mississippi Is Calling for Major Changes
The Alumni Coalition for Change at Tougaloo College in Mississippi has authored an online petition calling for the resignation of all top executives at the college. The alumni state that "there is discontentment among our ranks directly related to low student enrollment, a decrease in campus morale, horrid student living conditions, and questionable financial practices."
Spelman College Team Wins $1 Million in the Goldman Sachs Market Madness
This year, Goldman Sachs expanded the program to include 150 students from 12 HBCUs, selected from more than 400 applications. Students were split into 31 teams and, throughout the semester, conducted company research and proposed a strategic business solution for featured client, L’Oreal.
North Carolina Central University to Offer New Digital Filmmaking Concentration
The new concentration starting this coming fall will provide majors with a foundation for entry into the filmmaking and digital storytelling fields, including producing, directing, editing, cinematography, production design, and sound with an emphasis on storytelling as a function of narrative communication.
“Hate Comes Tumbling Down:” Morgan State Demolishes the Spite Wall
In 1917, what is now Morgan State University purchased land to build a new campus in the Lauraville neighborhood of Baltimore. The surrounding neighborhood was predominantly White. As the campus expanded, in the early 1940s White residents built a brick wall to separate the HBCU campus from their community.
Stillman College Wins the 2023 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge
The event is an academic competition for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities that was hosted on the American Honda corporate campus in Torrance, California. This was the 34th time Stillman College participated in the competition but the first time it won the national championship.
Bowie State University in Maryland Adds Two New Master’s Degree Programs
Historically Black Bowie State University in Maryland has announced the establishment of two new master's degree programs. The new programs are in applied biotechnology and molecular biology and the internet of things and internet technologies. The latter program is offered completely online.
UNCF to Further Enhance Its Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The United Negro College Fund's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s objectives are to build, grow, support, and nurture partner ventures through a multi-prong approach of education, development, mentoring, and financial support through scholarships, grants, and business funding for innovators and entrepreneurs.
Two HBCUs Team Up to Create Better Pathways to Bachelor’s Degrees
Miles College, a four-year HBCU in Fairfield, Alabama, is teaming up with Drake State Community & Technical College, a two-year HBCU in Huntsville, Alabama, to create easier pathways for students to earn a bachelor’s degree.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Is Adding Its First Engineering Degree Program
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has announced that it will be offering its first engineering degree program this coming fall. The university will be just the 16th HBCUs to offer an engineering degree program.
Four HBCUs Targeted by Bomb Threats Receive Funds for Mental Health Services
The funds are part of the Project School Emergency Response to Violence program. Project SERV funds short-term education-related services for local educational agencies and institutions of higher education to help them recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted.
Simmons College of Kentucky to Offer Classes at the State’s Sole Female-Only Prison
Inmates who have at least 12 months left to serve or to become eligible for parole may apply to take courses through Simmons College. Those accepted into the program will have the opportunity to pursue an associate degree in general studies or religious studies or a bachelor’s degree in sociology or business entrepreneurship.
Judge Rules That a Class-Action Lawsuit Filed by Florida A&M University Students May Proceed
In September 2022, six students at historically Black Florida A&M University in Tallahassee filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the state of Florida. The suit claims that the historically Black university receives far less in state funding per student than the University of Florida. A federal judge recently ruled that the litigation can move forward.
Six Alabama Community Colleges Become Members of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund
The decision reflects the Thurgood Marshall College Fund's belief that its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts should recognize alternative pathways to degree attainment and skill development. In the past, TMCF represented only four-year, state-operated educational institutions.
Spelman College Students Participating in Four-Week Study Abroad Program in Japan
With financial aid from the U.S. State Department, 26 students and two faculty members from historically Black Spelman College in Atlanta are spending four weeks in Japan participating in a study abroad program at Josai International University to study Japanese language, history, and culture.
Grambling State University to Debut Its New Ph.D. Program in Criminology and Justice Administration
The program focuses on the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior while examining the structure of the criminal justice system, its procedures and processes, and how they can work to provide a fair system for all. It will have two areas of concentration: Minorities and Social Injustice Policy, and Justice Policy and Administration.
School of Dentistry at Meharry Medical College to Open New Center on Dental and...
The center, located within the School of Dentistry’s main building, will allow Meharry to introduce the latest in dental and digital technology including innovative products to its dental school. Meharry will expand its educational areas to replicate real-life dental practices with five new examination rooms.
Fort Valley State University to Offer a Master of Social Work Degree Program
The new program offers face-to-face and fully synchronous online paths to the degree. The new program requires a total of 45 credit hours. This will allow the enrolled students to graduate within two years. The degree has two concentrations: mental health and alcohol and drug addiction counseling.
Nine HBCUs Become Limited Partners in a $10 Million Venture Capital Fund
The Historic Fund is a unique philanthropic initiative that invites selected HBCUs to be limited partners without investing their own assets. The goal of the initiative is not only to bolster the endowments of HBCUs, but also to foster connectivity between these institutions and the broader venture capital community.
Shaw University Wins Approval to Rezone Its Campus for Redevelopment
Earlier, this year, historically Black Shaw University petitioned the Raleigh City Council to rezone 27 acres of its downtown campus, requesting that its property be redesignated as a “Mixed Business District.” Despite strong opposition from some alumni, the Raleigh City Council has approved the plan.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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....
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.
