U.S. Forest Service and HBCUs team up to create more diversity in firefighting
By Sheyla Fairley
According to an article, 20 students from historically Black colleges or universities participated in an apprenticeship at an on-site fire academy established by “the U.S. Forest Service and a cluster of HBCUs” comprised of Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL; Southern University in Louisiana, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL; and Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, AL.
The program was to address the underrepresentation of minorities in forestry and firefighting as wildfire season in the U.S. has increased due to climate.
The students participated in instructor-supervised prescribed burns, which consisted of clearing paths, lighting fires and making sure “the embers are out when they’re done.”
For more information, read the full article here.
Jackson State University partners with yogurt brand Oikos to provide better food options for students
By Sheyla Fairley
Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, has partnered up with Oikos, a popular brand of Danone yogurt, to provide students with healthier food options.
As stated in a release, Oikos “carries a range of options and flavors and aims to make its products accessible to low-income communities and those of color,” and through the “success and efficiency of this collaboration, Oikos will branch out to serve other HBCUs in the near future.”
“We know nutrition, fitness and education are key tools for students to get stronger, and through our partnership with Jackson State University, Oikos will maintain and provide further access to nutritious food that will encourage better eating habits to the students within the JSU athletic program. This is just the beginning,” stated Danone, the parent food company of the Greek yogurt brand.
Spelman College students go abroad for cultural exchange program in Japan
By Sheyla Fairley
In partnership with the U.S. Embassy, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, was able to send 26 students overseas on a four-week foreign exchange program in Japan last month.
“I thought setting up an educational partnership with a historically Black college would be the best way to get the students at Spelman, in this case, the same experience that a lot of these State Department employees and other types of commercial employees had in their own educational background, and replicate it,” said Rahm Emanuel, the United States ambassador to Japan, in a release. “These students are going to take this experience and, somewhere, some way, it will shape what they do and what they know. That I know from talking to them at our reception.”
FSU reports record number of students in its summer school
By Sheyla Fairley
According to an article, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC, has enrolled a “record 4,270 students” in the university’s Free Summer School program, a 17% increase from last summer. FSU’s Free Summer School program is a component of the “University’s 30-60-90 Completion Program” which seeks to keep students on track for graduation in four years or less.
“We launched this program on the heels of the pandemic utilizing federal dollars as we are deeply committed to our mission of student success through robust matriculation, retention and persistence initiatives that will take our students to and through graduation in four years or less,” said FSU Chancellor Darrell T. Allison. “Thousands of students took us up on the Free Summer School program. Although we knew that federal dollars would be limited, we were determined to raise the necessary funding to sustain this worthwhile effort, as student retention and graduation are key UNC System priorities. The timing of this amazing news – where nearly two-thirds of our entire student population are enrolled in summer school – couldn’t come at a more important and pivotal time.”
For more details, read the full article here.
Bowie State’s BIONIC initiative continues work to combat the spread of misinformation and disinformation
By Sheyla Fairley
Launched by Bowie State University, Bowie, MD, and The Maryland Center at BSU last year, the Bowie State University Influence Operations National Innovation Center (BIONIC) has finished its first wave of research and projects centered on misinformation and disinformation.
According to an article, BIONIC is designed to “integrate students, academia and industry expertise and capabilities for dual-use approaches to combat digital malign activity, addressing both national security and U.S. citizen consequences arising from adversarial misinformation, disinformation, and influence operations.”
“The importance of the BIONIC cannot be understated,” said Ken Spedden, general manager, TDX International and co-creator of the BIONIC initiative. “BIONIC is critical to serving the needs of our nation by nurturing early research to eliminate unexpected malign influence technological threats, and promoting solving the challenges facing both warfighters and citizens through cooperation between academia, the defense sector, federally funded research and development centers, small businesses, start-ups and international partners.”
Read the full article, here.
