TSU’s ‘Aristocrat of Bands’ submits gospel album for Grammy nomination

By Sheyla Fairley

Tennessee State University’s, Nashville, TN, marching band “Aristocrat of Bands” submitted their gospel album named “The Urban Hymnal” to the Grammys for nomination. According to an article, the album was “released on September 23, 2022, and is comprised of 10 tracks containing organic sounds.”

“This album is like pulling the excitement out of the entire community because it’s so pivotal and monumental. It’s something again, that hasn’t been done before,” said Larry Jenkins, assistant director of bands and professor at TSU.

If the TSU marching band were to win the Grammy award, they would go down in history as the first collegiate band to do so for an entire album.

For more information, read the full article here.

Collaboration between Adobe and Bowie State to provide students with internships and training for future jobs

By Sheyla Fairley

According to the university’s press release, the Adobe Foundation has selected Bowie State University, Bowie, MD, to receive $1 million in an effort to make “learning digital skills more equitable and enable success of diverse students from underinvested communities.”

Additionally, Adobe will offer “a new cybersecurity internship program early in 2023” to Bowie State students to “prepare them for careers in the cybersecurity workforce.”

“Adobe’s continued partnership and generous financial support from the Adobe Foundation enables Bowie State to further provide necessary training, internships and digital tools for our diverse students to increase digital literacy across our cyber security, data sciences and analytics, and digital media programs,” said BSU President Aminta H. Breaux. “We are excited to work with the Adobe team to create new opportunities for internships, professional development and faculty-student research to pave the way for our students to successfully enter the workforce with invaluable digital skills.”

Partnership between VSU and InScribe to provide students with access to tools and resources through digital community platform

By Sheyla Fairley

According to an article, Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, has partnered up with InScribe, a digital student support platform, to provide “students in its College of Education with more opportunities to connect with faculty and staff, seek help, and build relationships with peers” with a virtual community which students will be able to access through VSU’s Learning Management System.

“Meaningful and successful educational experiences are not just about content. Developing well-rounded individuals who understand the importance of connection and support is critical to teaching and learning,” said Dr. Willis Walter, College of Education Dean at Virginia State University. “With InScribe, our students can form deeper relationships with a network of educators who guide them academically and professionally. We were immediately impressed with InScribe’s technology as information is easily searchable, help is just a click away, and collaboration is seamless.”

Read the full article, here.

Blackstone Charitable Foundation expands entrepreneurial program access to four historically Black colleges and universities

By Sheyla Fairley

The Blackstone Charitable Foundation is committing $2 million to expand access to its entrepreneurial skill-building program, Blackstone LaunchPad, to students at Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD; Bowie State University, Bowie, MD; North Carolina A&T University, Greensboro, NC; and North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC.

According to an article, Blackstone Launchpad will help “cultivate student startup ideas and increase access to a pipeline of internship and job opportunities.”

“We want to show students how the entrepreneurial mindset isn’t just about starting a business. It’s also about the ability to effectively solve problems and bring holistic value in the world,” said Antwon Foreman, an entrepreneurship instructor in A&T’s Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics who will serve as director of this program. “This funding will be used primarily to create programs and initiatives to increase entrepreneurial engagement with entrepreneurship competitions and possibly an entrepreneurship accelerator on campus as well.”

For more details, read the full article here.

FAMU purchases apartment complex near campus to help with student housing shortage 

By Sheyla Fairley

Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL, has purchased the 118-bed Light House at Brooklyn Yard apartment complex on Eugenia Street which sits on the northwest perimeter of the campus.

As stated in a release, the $12.65 million acquisition is a response to the “higher demand for on-campus housing,” with university leaders seeing the purchase as an “opportunity to boost retention and graduation rates,” and giving FAMU “flexibility in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“This is a historic day for Florida A&M University. It’s going to give us a presence along FAMU Way beyond the roundabout,” said FAMU president Dr. Larry Robinson. “This is an investment in FAMU’s future.”