"Funding the Future: Major Higher Ed Gifts Benefiting African Americans"

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.Robert Green, chair of the department of physical and forensic sciences at Alabama State University, has been awarded an $800,000 grant from the United States Department of Energy to advance the HBCU’s research in chemistry and materials sciences. The funds will provide eight student internship opportunities per year and paid research experiences for students over the next three years. Participating students will be trained on using neutron diffraction as an analytical technique to confirm the structure of synthesized solids.Historically Black Kentucky State University, in partnership with the University of Kentucky, has been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to support the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Sustainable Community Project. The program will provide families in four Kentucky counties with comprehensive life skills based on each community’s unique needs.