One of Atlanta's oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities has received funding to drive STEM innovation at the school
Morehouse College was awarded a $9 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The school is now a founding partner of the HBCU Undergraduate Success Research Center, a program designed to "increase educational and employment opportunities for minorities interested in STEM subjects," according to a news release.
The STEM-US center will study STEM initiatives at 50 HBCUs across the country, produce data and create a set of best practices to be used at other colleges and universities to increase the volume of minority STEM majors, according to a news release.
Morehouse, which states it is the school with the most Black male graduates in STEM fields, will specifically examine how and why HBCUs are successful at supporting innovation and efforts in STEM subjects. The school will share part of the grant with Atlanta's Spelman College and Virginia State University.
"Investing in the institutional capacity of HBCUs and developing diverse STEM talent is part of NSF's longstanding commitment to broaden participation of groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM," NSF Program Director Claudia Rankins, who manages the HBCU program, said in a statement. "The knowledge generated by this center will detail what practices make HBCUs successful in educating Black students in STEM, and the center will place HBCUs at the forefront of STEM education reform."
STEM-US' goal is to secure HBCUs as leaders in innovating STEM education on a local and national level. The center will conduct several research projects, including a case study of 25 HBCUs, as well as studies on the scientific literacy needed to excel in STEM.
"This center will become a national hub for collaboration, research and resources for successful STEM outcomes because it is designed within a culturally relevant framework focusing on assets and not deficits," Morehouse Provost Michael E. Hodge said in a statement.
In addition to studies, the center will award stipends to students pursuing academic research in STEM.
The news comes as Morehouse School of Medicine announced a partnership with UnitedHealth Group to study if people with the sickle cell trait are at greater risk of contracting Covid-19 and if the trait results in more severe cases of the disease. Last month, Netflix announced it would donate $40 million to Morehouse and Spelman College to provide student scholarships and erase student loan debt.
