Category: School

Written By the Dillard University Newsroom The U.S. Department of Interior awarded Dillard University with a $750,000 grant to restore the historic academic building Howard House. The agency’s assistant secretary of Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Shannon Estenoz, presented the grant today in a press conference with Dr. Rochelle Ford, president of Dillard University. The restoration grant is one of the first awarded by the U.S. Department of Interior, which protects cultural heritage under the National Historic Preservation Act. “At the Interior Department, it is our job to help steward America’s story. By preserving sites like Dillard University, we not The post Dillard University Awarded $750,000 Grant From The U.S. Department of Interior To Restore Historic Campus Building appeared first on HBCU News.

By Jessica Washington A brightly colored eviction notice plastered on the door frame is an image most of us can easily conjure. But what happens after the bags are packed, and all that remains from the place you once called home is a scarlet E on your record? A recent report from Policy Link, a non-profit research group, is shedding light on the aftermath of evictions in Pennsylvania. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of thousands of evictions have been filed in the Commonwealth. And just in the last year, 114,000 evictions were filed in Pennsylvania, a disproportionate number of which The post How Evictions Haunt Thousands of Black Pennsylvanians appeared first on HBCU News.

By William H. Kelly III Kennedy Pierce, a junior political science student at Jackson State University, will travel to Chicago on Wednesday as a 2023-2025 recipient of the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service. The Voyager Scholarship was created by President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and the Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, to help shape young leaders who can bridge divides and help solve the world’s biggest challenges. “This scholarship will allow me to focus on a public service career instead of the burden of college debt. When I first found out, it felt unreal, and it still feels The post JSU student receives Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service appeared first on HBCU News.

The city of Philadelphia has picked the winning design for a Harriet Tubman statue outside City Hall after facing criticism over its original choice of a white artist who’d been selected without competition. Alvin Pettit beat out four other semifinalists with a design called “A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter.” His nearly 14-foot bronze statue — the first of a Black woman who is a historical figure in the city’s public art collection — will portray Tubman as a military leader and freedom fighter. The famed abolitionist — who escaped slavery and led other enslaved Black women and men The post Philadelphia picks winning design for Harriet Tubman statue after controversy over original choice appeared first on HBCU News.

By Meg Barbor, Medscape Commercial sperm banks in the United States lack racially and ethnically diverse donors, potentially limiting family-planning options for patients in traditionally underserved populations, according to a new study presented at the 2023 annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). “This really highlights the need to identify barriers to increase recruitment of these donors so that we can support family-building for all populations,” said Lauren Gibbs, MD, a resident in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. Gibbs and her colleagues compared the racial and ethnic makeup of sperm donors from online The post Lack of Racial, Ethnic Diversity in Cryopreserved Donor Sperm in the United States appeared first on HBCU News.

The only cure for painful sickle cell disease today is a bone marrow transplant. But soon there may be a new cure that attacks the disorder at its genetic source. On Tuesday, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will review a gene therapy for the inherited blood disorder, which in the U.S. mostly affects Black people. Issues they will consider include whether more research is needed into possible unintended consequences of the treatment. If approved by the FDA, it would be the first gene therapy on the U.S. market based on CRISPR, the gene editing tool that won its inventors the Nobel Prize in 2020. The The post A new cure for sickle cell disease may be coming. FDA advisers will review it next week. appeared first on HBCU News.

By Monica Lewis As he prepares to hold his formal inauguration next week, Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., has announced key additions to his cabinet as well as leadership updates within the Office of Corporate Relations, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of the Chief Strategy Officer, all areas focused on supporting strategic priorities for the University. Vinson, who started his role as the University’s 18th president on September 1, has named two new members to his cabinet: Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, senior advisor for strategic initiatives, and Odalys M. Diaz Piñeiro, Ed.D., chief of staff. Zeleza started in The post Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., Makes Key Additions to Cabinet appeared first on HBCU News.

By Quiana Shepard North Carolina Central University (NCCU) announces the grand reopening of its newly- renovated NCCU Art Museum, with a significant exhibition entitled “Celebrating Ernie Barnes: A Homecoming,” which will be displayed from Thursday, Nov. 3 to Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. Distinguished NCCU alumnus Ernest Eugene Barnes Jr. attended then-called North Carolina College (N.C.C.) at Durham (1956-60) on a full athletics scholarship and majored in art. Barnes credited his formal artistic and athletic training at N.C.C. as an integral foundation for his style and approach to art. Today, his art is internationally recognized, acclaimed, admired and has been exhibited in major museums, institutions and The post Revitalized NCCU Art Museum Reopens with Ernie Barnes Exhibit, Nov. 3 appeared first on HBCU News.

Courtesy of Virginia State University Virginia State University proudly announces that Thompson Hospitality, the nation’s largest black-owned and privately held hospitality company, will donate $1 million to the university. The generous donation made by Warren Thompson is a tribute to his parents, Fred and Ruby Thompson. It marks the second $1 million contribution to VSU from the Thompson Family, following an initial pledge in 2011. “The Department of Hospitality Management is honored and humbled to receive a donation of this magnitude that celebrates the legacy of Fred & Ruby Thompson,” said Berkita Bradford, Department Chair of Hospitality Management at VSU. The post Virginia State University To Receive $1 Million Donation From Thompson Hospitality appeared first on HBCU News.

By Claretta Bellamy After Covid completely upended life on college campuses, students and recent graduates are encountering a new challenge: student loans. Federal student loan payments are resuming this week, ending the three-year pause enacted through policies in 2020 to ease financial burdens when the Covid pandemic rattled the economy and countless people’s livelihoods. Millions of college students and graduates — including Black women, who carry the highest burden of student debt — held on to the hope of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which the Supreme Court struck down in June. Yet, Biden is aiming to push policies that would provide relief The post Students whose college years were upended by Covid face their next hurdle: repaying loans appeared first on HBCU News.

Courtesy of Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana received a $500,000 check toward a larger program centered on eliminating health disparities to create a more inclusive, representative healthcare system by Louisiana Healthcare Connections as part of ongoing efforts to create health equity. “As a university that seeks a more just and humane society, Xavier understands the importance of addressing health equity issues on a systemic level,” says Dr. Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University. “Our collaboration with Louisiana Healthcare Connections has the potential to profoundly improve the health of our communities. To impact equity in health outcomes, Xavier University will The post Louisiana Healthcare Connections Presents $500,000 to Xavier University of Louisiana appeared first on HBCU News.

Written By Morehouse School of Medicine Meharry Medical College’s School of Dentistry will launch a new innovation center to house the latest in dental technology and materials to prepare students for modern-day dental practice. The center will be supported in part by the 2023 Innovation Center Award, presented to the Meharry School of Dentistry by the Center for Research and Education Technology (CRET). The Meharry innovation center is slated to open within the next year and the Class of 2025 will be the first cohort of students to avail themselves of its features. The center, located within the School of Dentistry’s The post Meharry School of Dentistry to launch new innovation center for dental education appeared first on HBCU News.