Three historically Black colleges and universities have announced a $1 million program to develop the entrepreneurial aspirations of students from the District of Columbia who will enroll at their institutions.
Morgan State University, Bowie State University and the University of the District of Columbia will collaborate on The Capital Builders Center, an entrepreneurship-focused student scholarship program and training institute that features courses, mentoring, leadership training and individualized coaching to build skills in management and entrepreneurship. There will also be opportunities for work experiences and internships.
The Clifton Foundation is the funding partner of the scholarship program.
Bowie State president Dr. Aminta H. Breaux said that she had been in touch with the foundation about entrepreneurship development going on at her university, particularly an assessment tool called “strength finder.” UDC was having similar conversations, and the Clifton Foundation brought the three universities together for the project.
“Our students coming in are expressing a great deal of interest in entrepreneurship,” said Breaux. “It’s going to be very beneficial to look at this as a model. We’re each very different institutions. I think having the diversity of institutions is going to be helpful as we’re looking at the outcomes—to see what works and what’s not working, trying to find out what’s the best model to educate students around entrepreneurship.”
Data will be shared at the end of each year. The goal at the conclusion of the three-year program is to release the model on a national level.
“Morgan looks forward to working with UDC and Bowie on shaping the cohorts that will participate in the program, collaborating on the entrepreneurship curriculum in which the students will engage and providing the support needed to ensure the success of the students,” said Dr. Kara Turner, vice president for enrollment management and student services at Morgan State. “We also anticipate working together to secure additional funding to allow us to expand the program on our campuses and beyond.”
