HBCU Buzz Inc.

The Home Depot announces the kick-off of its fourth annual Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program. The 2013 Retool Your School Grants will total $195,000 to be awarded as one $50,000 Tier I Grant, one $25,000 Campus Pride Grant for the school that receives the most votes and social media activity, and twelve $10,000 Tier II Grants. Schools are [...]

Moody’s Investors Service has cut the credit rating on $1.5 billion borrowed by West Chester University, Cheyney University, and the 12 other Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education colleges to Aa3, from Aa2. The state-owned colleges face “weakening state support” under Gov. Corbett, along with “declining enrollment” – the number of full-time students dropped below 107,000 this fall, from 112,000 [...]

Morgan State’s president says lack of resources thwarts many African-American students Low graduation rates among African-Americans at Maryland’s historically black colleges and universities present a major issue deserving of systematic analysis for solutions. This problem has been well documented by countless media outlets in HBCU communities nationwide, including in a recent Sun editorial. That editorial also challenged Maryland’s HBCUs on [...]

Fort Valley State University’s cost-cutting measures will mean about 100 mostly temporary and part-time employees will lose their jobs. After getting approval of its plan from the Board of Regents last week, the university notified the impacted employees Friday, said FVSU Vice President Canter Brown. Most of those affected are part-time professors, and that exact number is uncertain because there [...]

Regions Financial Corp. will partner with Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University and four other historically black colleges and universities on a wide-ranging program beginning this fall. The program will support financial education, academics, athletics and alumni engagement at six schools, with plans to expand the program to additional HBCUs in the future. In addition to the Alabama schools, the [...]

Denmark Technical College suffered through a difficult time from 2007 until 2010, with three individuals acting as president. But it has seen significant growth since Dr. Joann Boyd-Scotland took over as interim president in June 2011. The number of degrees awarded by the college rose by 89 percent in one year, going up from 197 in 2011 to 373 in [...]

The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find [...]

Four students from Prairie View A&M University are enjoying their summer sharpening their skills, engaging in entertaining social activities, and networking with several recruiting partners from Fortune 500 companies. PVAMU juniors Dorothy Gordon, Jonathan Amos and Clarencia Weeks, and senior Ariel Walker, all accounting majors, were given the opportunity to compete at this summer’s National Association of Black Accountants convention [...]

Grambling State University will again host the LA GEAR UP summer learning camps with week I which July 8-14. Week II activities will be held from July 15-21. The focus of the LA GEAR UP (Louisiana Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) camps is to help students develop and enhance academic and leadership skills needed to promote success [...]

Columbia, SC (WLTX) Benedict College has received two federal grants totaling $3.4 million over five-years from the US Department of Education. The five-year grant comes under the Department of Education’s Upward Bound program. The program looks to assist first generation college students, low-income students, or those students who need academic support. The first part of the grant will serve 100 [...]

Grambling State University, along with other public higher education institutions, was notified that Governor Bobby Jindal had imposed a Mid-Year budget cut. Governor Jindal had delivered the commencement speech for GSU graduates in spring 2009 on May 16. Jindal did not receive a support of praise from the parents, students, graduates or administration during or after his speech. In 2009 [...]

Valerie Hendriex, vice president, Senior Community Development Officer at Wells Fargo (third from right), presented a $10,000 commemorative check to FAMU’s College of Law Dean LeRoy Pernell (second from left).  The funds will be used to host a mortgage foreclosure workshop through the FAMU Legal Clinic under the direction of Associate Professor Ann Marie Cavazos (right).  Also pictured: Mildred Graham, [...]

 Thanks to the commitment and generosity of donors to Spelman, the College has passed the $100 million mark in The Campaign for Spelman College and is off to a great start in securing the remaining $50 million. “The willingness of donors to share their time, treasure and talent will ensure that future Spelman women have life-changing experiences that will enable [...]

The sixth annual “Reach for the Stars!” summer camp for teens will be held in 2012 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, thanks to a generous grant from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore. Tina Baxter, an RMHC of Baltimore board member, and representatives of Salisbury-based Baxter Enterprises presented a $23,000 check to the university’s Institutional Advancement Office [...]

Dr. Allen Sessoms on Tuesday accepted a check for nearly $17,000 from the Verizon Foundation for the purpose of funding scholarships for deserving students.

President Ammons announces that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded FAMU an education and research grant totaling $15 million.  This is the largest single grant awarded in the history of the University. (From left to right) LaTrisha Allen, a second-year Ph.D. research student, and Kali Farris, a third-year master’s degree student majoring in environmental science marine toxicology, are examining [...]

Dominion Resources has awarded Virginia State University $50,000 to expand a digital textbook pilot project aimed at reducing costs and increasing student retention. The grant is part of more than $200,000 in grants by Dominion to colleges and community colleges in Central Virginia to support programs in business, skilled craft, engineering, environmental and technical studies, and for student-led conservation programs. [...]

  Jackson State University President Carolyn W. Meyers prepped the university faculty and staff for the fall 2011 semester with a state of the university report and a challenge to keep reaching toward new heights.   “What got us here, won’t get us there,” she said during JSU’s Fall Faculty and Staff Seminar on Aug. 11. “We can’t miss the boat.” [...]