Morehouse College launches the Black Men’s Research Institute

By Sheyla Fairley

Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, will establish an institute centered on Black male research. The institute will study the economic, social, cultural, and personal outcomes of issues affecting Black men, particularly where disparities exist in the United States and abroad.

Kendrick Brown, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Morehouse College, thinks that the BMRI will be “a positive force for promoting richer, more nuanced understandings of how Black men affect and are influenced by their communities.”

“It is important to Black men, for Black men and for Black boys who need help, who need to be lifted up, who need to have some entity, some place that is focused not just on studying them, but on really helping to understand themselves and the experiences they have,” said Clarissa Myrick-Harris, chair of the university’s humanities division.

For more information, read the full article here.

Blackstone LaunchPad and UNCF partnership

By Sheyla Fairley

As stated in an article, Blackstone LaunchPad was founded to “empower student entrepreneurs as they develop their professional skills and pursue their ventures” and that one of its goals has been to “broaden access to entrepreneurial skills for students of all backgrounds.”

LaunchPad ended up committing “$40 million to expand its platform to colleges and universities that have a majority-diverse population or serve under-resourced communities” and partnering up with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the largest private scholarship provider for students of color, when they realized there was a lack of opportunity among students of color.

“Addressing the opportunity gap that diverse individuals face is a major area of focus for us at Blackstone. Our new Career Pathways initiative will help our portfolio companies hire and train youth from under-resourced communities, and the Charitable Foundation is furthering these efforts through our new partnership with UNCF, which will expand our LaunchPad platform to more majority-diverse and under-resourced campuses across the country,” said Amy Stursberg, executive director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation.

Getty Images Grant to help Claflin University to preserve history

By Sheyla Fairley

Claflin University, Orangeburg, SC, has been selected as one of four recipients for the inaugural Getty Images Photo Archive Grant for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

“We are enormously grateful to receive the Getty Images Photo Digitization Grant for Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said Claflin University president Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack. “This partnership will help Claflin preserve its illustrious history in photographs documenting the University’s emergence as one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. These images provide compelling visual narratives of how Claflin’s dedicated and visionary administrators, distinguished faculty and staff, and high-achieving scholars made indelible contributions to Orangeburg, the state of South Carolina, and the world.”

For more details, read the full article here.

SIU and Stillman sign agreement for program

By Sheyla Fairley

Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL, and Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, AL, have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at helping students enroll and earn a degree from the SIU School of Law.

SIU School of Law dean Camille Davidson says they are “committed to being an anti-racist and inclusive law school” and hope that “building partnerships with HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions, like Stillman, will help SIU School of Law become more diverse.”

“This program will allow selected students to participate in a summer pre-law program to expose them to the rigor and policies of law school admissions. We are also looking to advance similar programs in pre-health professions for students in Stillman’s Biomedical Academy with SIU. Collaborative efforts like this will ensure Stillman students are competitive for entry and success in law school and other professional programs. We are grateful to SIU for creating this opportunity,” said Stillman College president Cynthia Warrick in a release.

ATI as grant recipient for SC Commerce program

By Sheyla Fairley

Advanced Technology International (ATI) has been awarded a grant for the South Carolina Department of Commerce’s (SC Commerce) Office of Innovation 2022 Relentless Challenge for its program, “Expanding SC Underrepresented Minorities in the Cyber Security and Computer Science Workforce.“

According to an article, the program’s mission is to “introduce SC underrepresented minority students from SC historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Trident Technical College (TTC) to the opportunities presented by the cyber security and computer science profession, increase their representation in the field, and create a pipeline of talent that benefits both job seekers and employers.”

“We are pleased to receive this award from SC Commerce and expand our efforts in fostering technology innovation in South Carolina,” said Chris Van Metre, ATI president and CEO. “We are excited to work with the SC HBCUs, TTC, and our government and industry partners to provide students firsthand insight to the computer science field through a guided program with the SC-based cyber and information technology industry.”

Read the full article, here.