HBCU Buzz Inc.

Earlier this month Verizon launched its Powerful Answers Award, shared the official rules and began accepting entries in three core focus areas of healthcare, education and sustainability. Winners will be chosen in each core focus area, with the top prize being $1 million and additional prizes of $850,000, $700,000, $500,000 and $285,000. (Full details can be found on http://www.powerfulanswersaward.com/.) Verizon Chairman and [...]

Roland Martin has been named “Journalist of the Year” by the National Association of Black Journalists. The organization announced the award on Wednesday. NABJ President Gregory Lee, Jr. praised Martin for his “well-rounded coverage of the African-American community,” in a statement on Wednesday. The announcement comes a week before Martin’s last day at CNN on April 6. “New boss wants his own peeps,” the [...]

The HBCU Tip-Off Championship will be more than just a basketball tournament, according to founder Kevin Clayton. The tournament, which will be played at Philips Arena Nov. 9-11, will be an event that he hopes will enrich the lives of the players and community. Clayton detailed his vision during a press conference on Tuesday at the Arena to announce the [...]

Keith Pough, linebacker for Howard University, was awarded the Pat Tillman Award at the East-West Shrine Game® banquet Friday evening. The award is presented annually to the player who demonstrates courage, perseverance and talent throughout the week leading up to the game and recognizes his overall achievements and conduct. “Keith exemplifies the qualities we look for in the award winner,” [...]

The NCAA has awarded Jackson State University $900,000 to help enhance the academic outcomes of JSU student-athletes. The funds, which will be dispersed over three years, are part of the NCAA’s Limited-Resource Institutions Grant Program Pilot. “Jackson State University is thrilled to be selected by the NCAA for this innovative program,” said JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers (Left). “We are [...]

Voorhees College will induct four distinguished alumni — David Miller, Dorothy Perry Patterson, Sarah Simpson and Irene Reed Singletary — into its Hall of Fame during the 10th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet. The banquet will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, in the Leonard E. Dawson Health and Human Resources Center. David Miller, a 1984 graduate, is [...]

Many of pop culture’s biggest names have their own remarkable origin story. A lucky break, a serendipitous career move, or the life experience and knowledge gained at university. It should come as no surprise, then, that quite a number of today’s black leaders — actors, singers, authors and political figures — all share a common bond: as fellow HBCU alumni. [...]

Marlon S. Thomas, bioengineer and professor in Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, has been awarded United States Patent No. 8,252,522 for his research development in species detection methods and systems. Bacterial infections continue to be one of the major health risks in this country and timing in successfully diagnosing life-threatening ailments contributes to the high [...]

This is the first I’ve seen/read of this, but Boxtorow has just released its latest HBCU Power Rankings. It’s the third week of such rankings, so I guess it’s better late than never. Jackson State isn’t on the list, but several of the Tigers’ opponents are. Alabama A&M comes in at No. 7, Alabama State at No. 5 and Arkansas-Pine Bluff is ranked third. [...]

Thirty people were honored at the annual Black Achievers in Industry Awards dinner recently in Adam’s Mark Hotel. It was the 40th year for the event, which provides an opportunity for business, civic and religious organization to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions in career and community endeavors. The 2012 honorees are: • Jonathan Abrams, an information management analyst [...]

Just because the Grenada County is full of folks who once “chopped” cotton doesn’t mean folks can’t dream big. That was the message from the Rev. Neddie Winters, president of Mission Mississippi, as he spoke at the Fourth Annual Scholarship Fundraising Gala for the 100 Black Men of Grenada Thursday night. A packed house of more than 350 turned out [...]

Jonathan Figgers, a student at Winston-Salem State University, is the winner of a $10,000 scholarship from the 105 Voices of History HBCU National Concert Choir. Figgers, a bass from Charlotte, was one of two students who represented WSSU at the event in September at the Andrew Mellon Stage in Washington. He started participating in rehearsals around the country in April [...]

Barbara Hill, assistant professor in the School of Education at Clark Atlanta University has been awarded the 2012 Vulcan Teacher of Excellence Award, which is presented annually by Vulcan Materials Company. Hill has been on CAU’s faculty since 2010 and has worked at various times for the Atlanta, Fulton and Clayton school districts. Vulcan Materials Company has been a sponsor [...]

The Central State University Marauder Athletic Department has scheduled 1968 Olympic Bronze-medal winner and political activist John Carlos to be its keynote Hall of Fame Recognition Dinner speaker. Carlos is a former track and field athlete and professional football player. He was the bronze-medal winner in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and his Black Power salute on the [...]

On September 18th, 2012 the U.S Department of Education awarded nearly 228 million dollars to HBCU’s in five-year grants. The formula for the grants is formulated by the number of Pell Grant recipients per year, number of graduates over the past with graduate school or professional training, which determines a proportion of total funding which is appropriated to each institution. [...]

Florida’s four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) – are slated to receive approximately $12.8 million of a $227.9 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education this week, which continues grant-making to HBCUs that started under the George W. Bush administration. Ninety-seven HBCUs in 19 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be able [...]

Note: This post is based on a forthcoming study related to HBCU Honors programs and was co-authored with Claire Fluker (University of Pennsylvania), Felecia Commodore (University of Pennsylvania), and Darryl Peterkin (Morgan State University). There is an abundance of research on academically underprepared students and their experiences at HBCUs. Likewise, there is a fair amount of research on developmental programs [...]

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education awarded more than $12.2 million of federal grants towards Maryland’s four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Morgan State University, Coppin State University, Bowie State University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore. This federal grant will be invested towards strengthening academic resources, improving management capabilities and renewing building infrastructures for the four schools. “Maryland’s [...]