Hampton University joined 25 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to take part in Apple’s Community Education Initiative and Tennessee State University’s HBCU C2 initiative. The initiatives are ultimately created to bring coding and creativity opportunities to HBCUs, in addition to workforce development opportunities! See below for more details straight from Hampton.

In celebration of Computer Science Education Week, Hampton University announced it will become a community center for Coding and Creativity as part of Apple’s Community Education Initiative and Tennessee State University’s HBCU C2 initiative designed to bring coding and creativity experiences to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and their communities.

Hampton University

“Our founder, General Samuel Chapman Armstrong wanted to prioritize two tenets for Hampton University; the first was a strong academic offering, which today would be called workforce development. The second was the development of character. We continue to remain on the cutting edge of technology and workforce development, as they both are vital for the success of our future digital world and the economy,” said Hampton University President, Dr. William R. Harvey.

Faculty leaders from Hampton University will participate in Apple’s ongoing Community Education Initiative Learning Series to learn about coding and app development. As part of that ongoing professional development, educators will explore innovative ways to engage with learners using Apple’s comprehensive curriculum, which utilizes its easy-to-learn Swift programming language.

“The Department of Computer Science at Hampton University is committed to bringing technology and specifically access to coding for all throughout Hampton Roads.  It is a privilege to participate with Apple and Tennessee State’s HBCU C2 initiative to ensure students, within our community as well as internal to Hampton University across all disciplines. It is important that all students are prepared for the every rising demand of technology through learning to code and create,” said Dr. Jean Muhammad, Chair of the Department of Computer Science.

As part of its Community Education Initiative, Apple is supporting Hampton University with equipment and professional development to help the university become the pre-eminent HBCU C2 community center to bring coding and creativity to Hampton Roads.

Current hubs include:

  • Arkansas Baptist College
  • Central State University
  • Claflin University
  • Lawson State Community College
  • Morehouse College
  • Prairie View A&M University
  • Southern University at Shreveport
  • Tougaloo College

Current centers include:

  • Benedict College
  • Bethune Cookman University
  • Bowie State University
  • Delaware State University
  • Denmark Technical College
  • Dillard University
  • Drake State Community & Technical College
  • Fisk University
  • Grambling State University
  • Hampton University
  • Huston-Tillotson University
  • Jarvis Christian College
  • Johnson C. Smith University
  • Miles College
  • Morris Brown College
  • Norfolk State University
  • Saint Augustine’s University
  • Shaw University
  • Shorter College
  • Talladega College
  • Tuskegee University
  • University of Maryland Eastern Shore
  • University of the District of Columbia
  • Wilberforce University
  • Wiley College