Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Courtesy of Florida A&M University

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

The College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center has received a $1.58 million grant from Gilead Sciences, Inc., a California-based pharmaceutical company. The funds will support research into the sociocultural and structural factors that cause cancer disparities among Black women in the Southern United States.

St. John’s University in New York has received a $350,000 grant from the United States National Science Foundation’s Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation. Over the next five years, the funds will be used to recruit undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds who are interested in pursuing a STEM degree. The grant will also support mentoring programs, student retention efforts, and post-graduation career opportunities.

Dillard University, a historically Black university in New Orleans, has received a $310,000 donation from the United Methodist Church to repair the university’s Lawless Memorial Chapel. The chapel was built in 1955 and serves as the university’s largest formal gathering space.

Historically Black Florida A&M University has secured over $50 million in state funding in support of several projects across the university. The funding will support programs aimed at enhancing research capabilities in STEM fields, increasing student graduate and retention rates, recruiting high-quality faculty members, and improving campus security.

Fayetteville State University, a historically Black university in North Carolina, has been gifted $750,000 to support the university’s 30-60-90 Free Summer School Program. The initiative was founded four years ago to alleviate tuition fees and help students graduate on time, in four years or less. The program provides students with up to seven free credit hours during the summer.

The Patuxent Environmental and Aquatic Research Laboratory at historically Black Morgan State University in Baltimore has been awarded a $600,000 Maryland Sea Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The grant will fund the laboratory’s research into soft-shell clam aquaculture and address health and climate disparities in underserved, coast-adjacent South Baltimore communities.