Modesto City Schools approve of plan to send students on HBCU tour

By Sheyla Fairley

The Modesto City School District in California approved of a plan to send students on a tour of historically Black colleges and universities from March 20 – March 24, 2023.

According to an article, the tour will be free to the thirty students and four chaperons with the total cost of the trip being $72,250 and being “paid for through Title IV funding.”

The tour will visit seven HBCUs: Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown College, all located in Atlanta, GA; Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, AL; Talladega College in Talladega, AL; and Alabama State University in Montgomery, AL.

For more information, read the full article here.

Nex Cubed partners with Costco to invest $40M in HBCU startups

By Sheyla Fairley

Venture firm Nex Cubed and Costco Wholesale, a retail company, have teamed up to launch the HBCU Founders Fund, which already received an investment of $5 million from Costco Wholesale.

According to an article, the fund is a $40 million accelerator which “seeks to foster and invest in startups where at least one founder is an HBCU student, alumni or faculty member.”

“We are proud to partner with the HBCU Founders Fund to help foster a more inclusive venture capital environment and accelerate Black entrepreneurship,” said Richard Galanti, executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of Costco Wholesale.

The application will be open for those who want to apply to the fund until March 10, 2023.

For more details, read the full article here.

TSU’s ‘Aristocrat of Bands’ makes history as the 1st collegiate marching band to win a Grammy

By Sheyla Fairley

Tennessee State University’s, Nashville, TN, marching band “Aristocrat of Bands” won the award for Best Roots Gospel Album for “The Urban Hymnal” on February 5, 2023. As stated in a release, “Hymnal” is a gospel album, submitted in August 2022, that was “co-produced by songwriter/producer Dallas Austin, artist/songwriter/producer Sir the Baptist and TSU professor Larry Jenkins.”

“Your hard work and dedication created the pen that allowed you to write your own page in the history books,” said Jenkins, thanking his students in an acceptance speech. “We all know we made history, but this is also February. We also made Black history.”

Partnership between Pensole Lewis College and Coach Foundation to offer masterclass to underserved communities 

By Sheyla Fairley

According to an article, Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design (PLC), Detroit, MI, and the Coach Foundation, brings to life global philanthropic initiatives focused on the community, have announced a six-week program, the Coach Dream It Real x PLC Masterclass, for “aspiring accessories and footwear designers that will remove socioeconomic barriers for traditionally underserved communities and communities of color by offering them a unique course of study within Coach’s New York City design studio.”

From March 6 – April 14, 2023, the class will be “open to Black and Brown students, 18 years and older, globally” and “all students will receive a Coach Certificate of Completion by PLC” by the end of the masterclass.

Read the full article, here.

Grambling State University expands music program to include sound recording technology

By Sheyla Fairley

Grambling State University, Grambling, LA, will be offering a new degree program in music for students who do not play instruments, but are instead interested in making beats.

As stated in a release, the program will give students “the analytical and professional skills necessary for careers in music production, such as music producers, recording, mixing, mastering or live sound engineers.”

“The program itself was developed for us to continue to grow our department’s curriculum and get more students interested in majoring in music,” said Nikole Roebuck, GSU’s music department chair. “I majored in music education and students now, they’ll come up and say, ‘Hey I want to major in music’ and the first thing you ask them is, ‘What instrument do you play?’ and they’ll say, ‘Oh no. I make beats.’ I kept getting that semester after semester and I’m like, ‘Hey, we’re missing out on students who could possibly be music majors,’ and all of them wanted that studio experience.”