Howard University has landed a $5 million grant from Google to develop and enhance tech education and workforce development, the school announced Thursday, the day after announcing it will receive $1.25 million from Apple Inc. to develop its silicon and hardware engineering curriculum.
The private research university is one of 10 historically Black colleges and universities or scholarship organizations to receive the one-time, unrestricted funding from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to support scholarships, technological infrastructure, career readiness and curriculum development.
“Initiatives like this will help to eliminate the barriers our students face as they pursue academic and professional careers in the STEM fields,” Howard President Wayne Frederick said in a statement. “We are elated that Google has taken this momentous step toward creating a more diverse tech industry workforce by investing in HBCU students.”
The investment is part of Google’s Pathways to Tech initiative that the company launched in February, spearheaded by Chief Diversity Officer Melonie Parker, to support computing education in HBCUs and connect Black job seekers with work in tech roles. In the announcement, Parker said HBCUs produce one out of every four Black graduates with STEM degrees, but those professionals are highly underrepresented in the tech workforce. Google said this grant is its largest financial support for HBCUs.
“These institutions are actively shaping the next generation of Black leaders and are helping build a more diverse workforce across all industries,” Parker said in a statement Thursday.
The other nine institutions receiving Google's grant funding include scholarship fund nonprofits UNCF and Thurgood Marshall College Fund; Morgan State University in Baltimore; Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas; Spelman College in Atlanta; North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina; Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina; Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida; and Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Google’s commitment comes just one day after Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced its new three-year Innovation Grant, which seeks to partner the company’s experts with various HBCUs for curriculum development.
Howard was one of four recipients to receive the $1.25 million grant from Apple, which the university said will fund and support lab space, faculty training, guest lectures, and scholarships and fellowships.
“Apple will collaborate closely with our computer engineering faculty to strengthen our course offerings and laboratory capabilities in the areas of integrated circuit design, fabrication and testing,” Howard’s College of Engineering and Architecture Dean John Anderson said in a Wednesday statement. “Additionally, through design projects and internships, our students will have the opportunity to engage with Apple engineers and benefit greatly from their knowledge, experience and mentorship.”
