Alabama State University’s New Partnership With the U.S. Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy
The partnership will provide the university with access to the United States Defense Acquisition University curriculum which they will use to offer a new course on acquisition and contracting to its undergraduate students by spring 2019 and a certificate program in acquisition, contracting, and logistics by fall 2020.
Enrollment Surges at a Number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically Black colleges and universities all over the nation are seeing increases in enrollments. Here are some examples.
Google Partners with Seven HBCUs for Tech Exchange Program
Google has expanded its effort to boost diversity in Silicon Valley. A new program will provide students from seven historically Black colleges and universities with the opportunity to study computer science at the company's headquarters in California.
Howard University Cancer Center Expands Access to Clinical Cancer Trials for African Americans
Clinical trials provide patients with access to leading physicians, breakthrough medicines, advanced technologies, and groundbreaking treatments before they are widely available to the public. Historically, African Americans have been largely underrepresented in clinical trial research.
Hurricane Florence Wreaks Havoc on North and South Carolina HBCUs
The historically Black colleges and universities of North Carolina and South Carolina were among the many institutions affected by Hurricane Florence this past week.
Fayetteville State University Offers Affordable Online Bachelor’s Degrees for Community College Grads
Historically Black Fayetteville State University has signed an agreement with Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina, that will allow GTCC graduates to complete an online bachelor's degree through Fayetteville State University for no more than $10,000.
Charles R. Drew University of Medical Science Teams Up With Medical School in...
A new agreement between historically Black, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles and the Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica, has established joint education programs that aim to increase the number of physicians in underserved areas in the United States.
U.S. News Issues New Rankings of the Nation’s Best HBCUs
The top five HBCUs remained the same as last year's ranking; Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia was first. This was the 12th year in a row that Spelman College has topped the U.S. News rankings for HBCUs. Spelman College and Howard University also climbed in the overall rankings.
Xavier University Announces the Creation of the Center for Equity, Justice, and the Human...
The new center will be an intellectual and physical convening place for research, teaching, community engagement, and debate on issues related to race-based inequities, social identity production, and power relations.
Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina Receives Donation of Religious Books
Shaw University has received a donation of 500 books from the late Reverend Milton P. Snyder's personal library. The gift will enhance the university's collection of diverse religious publications.
Bethune-Cookman Faculty Want Action to Solve the University’s Problems
A group of 30 faculty members at Bethune Cookman University, a historically Black educational institution in Daytona Beach, Florida, recently sent a letter to university president Hubert Grimes. The faculty wrote that they were being “blatantly disregarded” and wanted solutions to the colleges growing list of problems.
Howard University Launches Campaign on Sexual Assault Prevention
Campaign activities will educate students and faculty on how to look for and prevent interpersonal violence.
Spelman College Receives a Donation of 14,000 Books From Harvard’s Skip Gates
Spelman College, the historically Black educational institution for women in Atlanta, Georgia, has received a donation of 13 pallets of books from Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s personal library. According to the college, the Gates' donation is the single largest book donation ever received by an HBCU.
Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, Eliminates Seven Majors
Benedict College, a historically Black educational institution in Columbia, South Carolina, will be eliminating seven majors this school year. The majors that will be cut are history, religion and philosophy, sociology, political science, transportation and logistics engineering, mathematics, and economics.
NBA Legend Isiah Thomas Seeks to Increase Celebrities’ Support of HBCUs
According to a statement released by Florida Memorial University, the new program is “intended to inspire successful athletes, entertainers and other influential partners to re-commit, embrace and support historically Black colleges and universities.”
Johnson C. Smith University Develops a New Minor Degree Program in Data Science
Five new courses will be developed and one existing course will be improved. These classes will teach students about data analysis, ethical problem-solving, and computational thinking.
What Are the Most Affordable Historically Black Colleges and Universities?
Annual tuition and fees at one of the more expensive HBCUs - Spelman College - are $28,181. Yet, this is still below the national average for a four-year private college, which stands at $32,410.
Philander Smith College Continues to Boost Enrollments
This year’s enrollment at Philander Smith is projected to be over 1,000 students. This is almost double what the enrollment was in 2014. The United Negro College Fund states that the college is growing twice as fast as any other UNCF member school.
New Academic Offerings at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina
Winston-Salem State University is offering a new minor degree program in public health within the School of Health Sciences and a new minor degree program in urban studies and sustainability.
Howard University Makes Great Strides in Gender Diversity in Engineering
At the College of Engineering and Architecture at Howard University, 43 percent of students who earned engineering degrees in 2016 were women. This is more than double the national average. The percentage of women assistant professors in the college increased from 9 percent in 2015 to 39 percent today.
Ford Teams Up With Spelman College to Boost Graduation Rates of First-Generation Students
Ford First Gen will enhance Spelman’s student success efforts by pairing a cohort of 50 first-generation, first-year students with 10 rising juniors – also first-generation students – who will serve as peer mentors. Mentors will spend at least 10 hours per week with each of their assigned mentees.
State Leaders in Mississippi See No Need to Close or Merge Public HBCUs
Alfred Rankins Jr., the first African American to lead the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Education, has gone on record as opposing any mergers of the state's historically Black universities into predominately White institutions.
Kevin Hart to Support the College Education of 18 KIPP Students at HBCUs
Comedian Kevin Hart has established a new $600,000 scholarship fund in conjunction with the United Negro College Fund that will support the college education of 18 students from Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) schools who will be attending historically Black colleges and universities.
Mississippi Valley State University Opens an Early College High School on Campus
High school students will spend their days on the campus of MVSU completing high school and college courses. When they complete high school they will technically be a sophomore in college and all those hours are transferable toward at college degree at the university.
A Handwritten Letter by Rosa Parks Has Been Donated to Alabama State University
In January 1957, the home of Rev. Bob Graetz and his wife Jeannie, a White couple who were both very active in the civil rights movement in the city, was bombed. Rosa Parks, who lived across the street wrote a letter describing that incident. The letter has now been donated to Alabama State University.
Tuskegee University Receives the Photographic Archives of Prentice H. Polk
Prentice H. Polk was one of the most influential photographers of his time. Much of Polk’s work was centered around Tuskegee Institute, and celebrated family life, national and local elite individuals, and specific events occurring on campus.
Cheyney University Creates the Institute for the Contemporary African American Experience
Jefferson University in Philadelphia and Epcot Crenshaw are among the initial partners in the newly formed institute at historically Black Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Starbucks Foundation also will partner with the institute on a future research project.
Alcorn State University to Offer a New Master’s Degree Program in NCAA Compliance
Alcorn State says that the new master's degree program in NCAA compliance and academic progress rate reporting is the first of its kind in the nation. The university will also offer a post-baccalaureate certificate program in the field.
Princeton University Brings HBCU Students to Campus to Garner Interest in Archival Research
Last month, Princeton University in New Jersey held its inaugural Archives Research and Collaborative (ARCH) program on campus. Fourteen students from five historically Black colleges and universities spent five days on the Princeton campus with the goal of interesting them in careers in archives research.
Howard University Partners With the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Diversify Business Leadership
The partnership will focus on four main programs. An internship program for Howard students at the Chamber has already been established. There will be a business executive speaker series, a research program provided by the Chamber; and an innovation and entrepreneurship development program.
Virginia State University Sets Up Incubator Farm in Culpepper County
The Small Farm Outreach Program, part of Cooperative Extension Services at Virginia State University, will provide fertilizer, seeds, hand and power gardening tools, personnel to provide training and technical assistance, and financial assistance.
Alabama State University Joins Forces With Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery
Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, calls itself "the intellectual and leadership center of the Air Force." Air University is located on the base. It has entered into an agreement to collaborate on projects with historically Black Alabama State University.
Paul Quinn College to Expand Its Urban Work College Network to Plano, Texas
Paul Quinn College has announced that it will establish a second educational program in Plano, Texas. Students will be housed in apartments and the college will seek classroom space at corporations that partner with the college in its urban work program.
Xavier University of Louisiana Changes Core Curriculum and Adds Degree Programs
The new core curriculum reduces the mandated course requirements from 60 hours to 40 hours. The streamlined core curriculum offers students greater opportunities to pursue minor degrees, certificates, double majors, and to take classes outside of their chosen degree path.
Albany State University Announces a Restructuring of Its Academic Colleges
Albany State University, the historically Black educational institution in Georgia, has announced a restructuring of its academic units. The university will now have three academic colleges instead of five.
Florida A&M University’s Post-Admit Program Prepares Students for Law School
Sixteen students received housing, meals, course materials and faculty instruction at no cost for the two-week program held earlier this summer. The program aims to enhance students' problem-solving, legal reasoning, critical reading and thinking skills.
