Black Colleges and Universities Bear the Brunt of Cuts in Federal Research Grants in Scientific Fields

A new report from the National Science Foundation finds that during the current economic recession, historically black colleges and universities have received a smaller percentage of federal research grants in science and engineering fields. According to the study, black colleges and universities received $406 million in research grants in 2007. This was down 8.6 percent from the previous year. Overall, federal research spending was down 0.4 percent in 2007 compared to the previous year.

The $406 million total was the lowest level of federal research support of black colleges since 2001. Federal grants to black colleges and universities accounted for only 1.6 percent of all federal grants for science and engineering.

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