The U.S. Department of Education announced the 24 colleges and universities who cumulatively were awarded $75 million from the First In The World (FITW) four-year grants program. Almost 500 institutions applied after the grants program was proposed in May.
Of 24 grant-winning colleges, 6 are minority-serving institutions, including Hampton University, the lone historically Black school to share in the awards. These institutions will receive a total of $20 million out of the $75 million. Hampton University will get $3.5 million.
“We were incredibly encouraged that of the winners, six of the winning dockets came from minority serving institutions,” said Ted Mitchell, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, during a teleconference Tuesday that included presidents of the grant-winning schools. “These are institutions whose mission it is, and whose demographics make certain, that they serve populations of first-generation students, racial minority [and] low-income students. We are especially gratified that those institutions have taken the innovation challenge.”
FITW is designed to reward and help college and universities that are taking an innovative approach to increasing college completion, value and affordability. All institutions that receive a grant must develop projects that address at least one of the following priorities: increasing college access and completion, increasing community college transfer rate, increasing STEM enrollment and reducing the time to completion.
Hampton University’s targeted student beneficiaries of the grants are those who declare a STEM major. Over the next four years, it aims to serve 1,065 students in STEM. The university will use the grant funding to redesign many of its math courses; include more project-based learning; create a math emporium and a summer bridge program; and invest in faculty development.
“I share President Obama’s goal, as well as the goal of the secretary, and others, on the whole concept of access and affordability. We’ve been working at this for a long time,” said Hampton University President William R. Harvey.
