8 HBCUs Receive Grants for Student Educators, STEM
Credit: 10'000 Hours / DigitalVision / Getty Images- The Department of Education granted over $1.6 million to four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for educator programs and over $1 million to another four for science, technology, engineering, and math.
- Grambling State University in Louisiana and North Carolina Central University are using their grants to train more multilingual educators from diverse backgrounds.
- HBCUs graduate 50% of all Black teachers.
- In 2023, there were at least 55,000 vacant educator positions and 270,000 positions filled by underqualified educators nationwide.
Eight historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are in a better position to graduate diverse teachers and students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) after getting grants from the Department of Education (ED).
On Sept. 16, the Biden-Harris administration awarded program funding to the HBCUs for educator and STEM workforce initiatives. According to ED, HBCUs graduate 50% of all Black teachers.
The country is also experiencing a national teacher shortage. In 2023, there were at least 55,000 vacant positions and over 270,000 positions filled by underqualified educators nationwide.
While the federal government has found that HBCUs have been underfunded since their creation, some have seen increases in applications and enrollment, according to the National Student Clearinghouse and university data.
“A diverse teacher workforce offers students an opportunity to ‘see themselves’ in their teachers; by default, role modeling ensues,” Dr. Jeffrey Warren, grant principal investigator, professor, and associate dean for North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) School of Education, told BestColleges. “Furthermore, diversity fosters inclusive classrooms and schools, promotes cultural competence, and ultimately, improves the outcomes of all students.”
Grants to Help Diversify the Educator Workforce
NCCU, Grambling State University in Louisiana, Morehouse College in Georgia, and Prairie View A&M University in Texas received a total of around $1.6 million from Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program grants for individual programs to improve educator diversity.
“Approximately 40% of schools lack a single teacher of color,” Dr. Danielle Williams, Grambling State principal investigator and assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, told BestColleges.
“Research shows that if students of color have even one teacher of color, they are more likely to graduate, be ready for college, enroll in AP (Advanced Placement) and other college-level courses.”
Grambling State is using its $378,939 award for GramPREP, a center of excellence for teaching and learning. Williams said GramPREP will improve the university’s educational standards by providing student teachers with timely, actionable, accurate, and more frequent feedback.
It will also add a new endorsement program to increase bilingual teachers and investigate solutions for financial barriers for bilingual teachers without a bachelor’s degree.
Grambling State is attempting to address the stark decline of bilingual teachers in the country. According to ED, the certified English Learner instructors decreased 10.4% (43,000) from 2022-2023.
According to the original grant proposal, GramPREP hopes to prepare 45 aspiring teachers from diverse backgrounds to address local shortages over five years.
NCCU’s $660,000 across five years is more than it originally anticipated for the Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Educators to Teach (ReD-E 2 Teach; pronounced “Ready to Teach”) project, Warren told BestColleges.
“We are excited that the reviewers of our grant proposal, and ultimately the Department of Education, found merit in the proposed scope of work and worthy of funding through the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program,” Warren said.
Warren told BestColleges that ReD-E 2 Teach is built on two key student support mechanisms:
- Extra-curricular support, including a teaching stipend and financial assistance for tuition or other expenses like licensure exams, childcare, and travel expenses. Students will also be connected to counseling, advising, tutoring, and career services.
- Targeted academic support which includes an orientation to promote belonging, give expectations, and help students understand policies and procedures. Students will also have access to licensure exam prep through the university’s learning management system.
Grants to Diversify STEM
ED awarded just over $1 million total to Fort Valley State University and Savannah State University in Georgia, Rust College in Mississippi, and Shaw University in North Carolina for the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP).
The grants will help increase STEM education for students from underrepresented groups, mainly underrepresented women.
According to Fort Valley State’s proposal, the university intends to directly support 57 students in STEM and biotechnology fields for stipends and travel. It will use remaining funding to support curriculum, lab improvement, and workshops for K-12 teachers.
A few hours away, Savannah State University intends to use its $299,480 to graduate more forensic toxicologists to combat drug-related crimes that disproportionately affect underrepresented groups.
The university hopes to improve its forensic science program — which graduates 90% minorities and 80% women — by boosting professors’ skills, enhancing the high school-to-forensic science pipeline, increasing real-world learning, and adding internships with Georgia law enforcement.
National Funding Efforts for HBCUs
This is the latest HBCU-directed funding for education this year.
In April, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, one of the largest HBCUs, won a $1.1 million grant from ED for its special education teaching program.
The grant funded Project EPIC: Exceptional Educators who are Proficient, Inclusive, and Culturally Competent, a program for historically excluded students, students with disabilities, and multilingual students to earn elementary education bachelor’s degrees and pursue special education teaching licenses.
These students can get hands-on experience at local K-12 schools and the university’s Aggie Academy — a free science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) school for third- through fifth-graders in Guilford County, North Carolina.
HBCUs have recently received more attention from federal and private donors, not only to improve endowments but also to fund new projects. The Biden-Harris administration also proposed increasing funding to HBCUs, minority-serving institutions, and community colleges by $93 million from 2023 and $329 million from 2021.
In January, the United Negro College Fund also received an unrestricted gift to distribute to endowments for its 37 member HBCUs. Spelman College, a historically Black women’s college in Georgia, also received the largest donation to an HBCU, $100 million for scholarships and projects.