Grants and Gifts

Historically black Norfolk State University in Virginia received a $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to create a women's center on campus. The center will be open to both students and members of the surrounding community.

• Central Connecticut State University in New Britain received a five-year, $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a program to increase the number of women and minority students who pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The historically black University of the District of Columbia received a $424,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. The research will investigate the feasibility of using underwater wireless networks.

• Oberlin College, the highly rated liberal arts institution in Ohio, received an anonymous gift of $1 million to endow a scholarship fund for four-year graduates of Oberlin High School. The fund will be named the William L. Robinson Scholars Program. Nine students entering Oberlin College this fall will make up the inaugural class of Robinson Scholars.

William L. Robinson, a 1963 graduate of Oberlin College and 1959 graduate of Oberlin High School, is a civil rights attorney and the founding dean of the University of the District of Columbia School of Law. He has also served on the Oberlin board of trustees.