HBCUs

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education

Dennis Shields, president of the Southern University System and chancellor of Southern University and A&M College, has been dismissed from his post. He will join the HBCU's law school faculty after a sabbatical.

St. Augustine's University is the first HBCU to express interest in joining Trump's Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, which promises federal funding in exchange for agreeing to a myriad of terms regarding student enrollment, DEI programs, and tuition freeze mandates.

Undergraduate students studying business and STEM at Jackson State now have the opportunity to be mentored by working professionals at S&P Global. The corporation will also provide the HBCU with new laptops and access to its financial intelligence platform.

The College of Health Sciences at Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania, has reserved seats specifically for Lincoln University of Pennsylvania students in several graduate degree programs in the health sciences. The two universities have also agreed to collaborate on projects through Alvernia's O'Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship and Lincoln's Lincubator.

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

A former University of Maryland Eastern Shore professor has accused President Heidi Anderson of plagiarizing her 1986 doctoral dissertation at Purdue University. In response to these claims and public critiques on her leadership, Dr. Anderson has filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit.

Beginning in the Spring 2026 semester, Bethune-Cookman University will offer seven new undergraduate majors to prepare students for careers in emerging industries and technologies. The HBCU will also introduce a new MBA track in healthcare administration.

Over the next five years, leaders at historically Black Meharry Medical College will partner with community stakeholders in Nashville, Tennessee; Detroit, Michigan; and San Bernadino, California to address the cities' disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease.

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Although on average they have smaller endowments and receive less federal funding per student than private HBCUs, public HBCUs enroll over three-quarters of all HBCU undergraduates and produce more STEM graduates, translating to a significant impact on the U.S. workforce and economy.

The financial management of historically Black Texas Southern University is under investigation by state officials following an audit that revealed the potential misappropriation of thousands of invoices totaling over $400 million.

Dr. Mason has led the Interdenominational Theological Center on an interim basis for the past year. He has over 35 years of experience in education, including academic leadership roles at several historically Black colleges.

In less than two months, MacKenzie Scott has donated over $600 million in direct support of historically Black colleges and universities. The latest HBCUs to receive investments from the billionaire philanthropist are Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Voorhees University, Winston-Salem State University, and Norfolk State University.

The School of Law at historically Black North Carolina Central University was recently named the country's most innovative law school by The National Jurist. The news outlet highlights the HBCU's Technology Law & Policy Center as a standout program for connecting law education to the technology-driven world.

Professor Imoukhuede was recently honored by the Education Law Association for his article, “The Walk Away from Racial Equality,” which examines how recent Supreme Court decisions have shifted away from Brown v. Board of Education's vision of racial equality.

Beginning in the upcoming Spring 2026 semester, South Carolina State University will offer three bachelor's degrees in computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering, as well as a master's degree in cybersecurity.

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Dr. Randolph has extensive experience leading academic affairs at historically Black colleges. Prior to her new role, she was the chief academic officer at both Morris Brown College in Atlanta and Clinton College in South Carolina.

Howard University, Virginia State University, Clark Atlanta University, and Spelman College are the latest HBCUs to receive major gifts from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. In just the past month, she has made record-breaking donations to eight HBCUs and the UNCF, building on the hundreds of millions of dollars in funding she bestowed to HBCUs in 2020.