Funding
Alabama State Awarded Record $24.7 Million Grant by U.S. Department of Education – The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $24.7 million federal discretionary grant to Alabama State University to design and lead a program aimed at significantly increasing the number of low-income students in the Montgomery Public School System (MPS) who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.
The grant numbers among the largest ‘single’ grant awards to the University and the grant spans a seven-year period. ASU’s GEAR UP will provide academic preparation services to more than 26,000 students within MPS. The project provides services to high-poverty, middle and high school students and begins with a sixth and seventh-grade cohort of 4,495 students who study within all ten MPS middle schools. The grant will continue to provide services to the cohort as they enter MPS high schools. – Alabama State University
28 HBCUs Join Ambitious $25 Million Initiative to Connect Students’ Education and Aspirations – Over the past year, Strada Education Network convened an advisory council of seven current and former HBCU presidents and led conversations with dozens of institutions to identify both needs and opportunities to accelerate economic mobility for HBCU students. The resulting initiative will focus on leadership development and provide students with scholarships and financial support to defray some of the costs of participating in internships. It also will help students build their professional networks and prepare them to launch their careers or explore graduate schools. Rather than establishing a new program, the initiative was designed to augment existing programs on HBCU campuses by providing experiences that marry a student’s academic learning with career goals and leadership aspirations. – Strada Education Network
Norfolk State University receives $5M for new master’s program – Norfolk State University received $5 million to establish a Master of Health Informatics degree in the Department of Nursing and Allied Health.
In collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health and the Hampton Roads Community Health Center, this program seeks to produce 100 underrepresented minority graduates by December 2024. – WAVY 10
Policy
HBCU Advocates Push for More Funding at Subcommittee Hearing – Rep. Frederica S. Wilson wore her trademark cowboy hat when she opened Wednesday’s House Education and Labor Committee’s Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee hearing titled, “Homecoming: The Historical Roots and Continued Contributions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs.)
The hearing was the first to “exclusively examine the state of these vital institutions since 2008,” Wilson said in her opening statement. Witnesses were gathered to testify about the importance and economic necessity of funding HBCUs as the current budget reconciliation bill still waits for congressional approval. The bill, as it stands, offers about $31 billion to fund HBCUs and other minority serving institutions (MSIs). – Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Leadership
Daniel Wims named president of Alabama A&M University
Dr. Wims has over 20 years of progressive administrative experience in various governmental and higher education organizations. Wims had formerly served as the executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs and as professor of agricultural sciences at The Fort Valley State University. – WAFF
