Senate Bill to Help Minority-Serving Institutions Meet IT Challenges
Legislation authorizes $250 million a year for technology improvements
By Charles Dervarics
Black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges would get a new source of federal funding for technology improvements under legislation that unanimously cleared the U.S. Senate on April 30.
The Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act would create a new program at the National Science Foundation to help HBCUs and other institutions develop a technology infrastructure. The bill authorizes $250 million a year for five years, beginning in 2004.
“This legislation will provide vital resources to address the technology gap that exists at many minority-serving institutions,” says Sen. George Allen, R-Va., prime sponsor of the bill.
