Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( HBCUs ) play a central role in the lives of Black students, fostering a sense of community that endures long after graduation. Yet many high school students remain largely unfamiliar with the institutions and their impact. On Jan. 2, 2026, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) released a new study titled “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges,” which surveyed nearly 150 students, teachers, and school counselors across seven high schools in the Northeast, Midwest, and West. Through the study, UNCF researchers identified a significant knowledge gap: 67% of teachers and 60% of counselors were somewhat, very, or extremely knowledgeable about HBCUs, while 61% of students reported little to no familiarity with the institutions. Additionally, over half of students surveyed — 53% — said their school counselors never or rarely suggested attending an HBCU, and 54% said counselors hardly ever provided resources about HBCU attendance. “The pivotal...

An AI-powered solution was launched for displaced workers and recent college graduates in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area. Talent Capital Talent Capital, a regional career services initiative of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, was launched in Washington, D.C., by Mayor Muriel Bowser and partners in October 2025, according to a press release. The new program comes after over 317,000 federal employees lost their jobs in 2025, with defense, agriculture, and treasury departments taking the hardest hits, per Federal News Network. In the DMV area, 34,100 federal employees lost their jobs from January to September 2025, according to Bethesda Magazine. Furthermore, college graduates have also been challenged in the job market with fewer entry-level positions available, CNBC mentions. Youth unemployment is sometimes an “early indicator that the economy is slowing down or maybe even heading towards a recession,” according to Anders Humlum,...

Dwayne Tucker’s leadership is steering Tennessee State University (TSU) in a positive direction. Tucker is an alum of the school, having earned a bachelor’s in business management in 1980, according to a press release. He assumed the role of interim president at the university in December 2024, succeeding Ronald Johnson, who was forced to resign. WKRN News 2 reports he also previously led a network of charter schools in the metropolitan area. Tucker brings experience in human resources and profit and loss for small businesses and Fortune 500 companies, notes the press release. He has also established board of director and compensation committee strategy, governance, and compliance-related programs. “It’s my pleasure to accept appointment of interim president for our beloved Tennessee State University,” Tucker expressed in the news release. “I also want to thank our board of trustees for their confidence in me as well as the bigger big blue community in terms of their support and...

Gary Eave has honored his former baseball coach’s wishes to “finish strong.” According to Grambling State News, Eave enrolled at Grambling State University in 1981. The opportunity was made possible through a scholarship presented to him by Coach Wilbert Ellis, who discovered him while he was attending the Baptist Youth Encampments on campus. “I kept looking at him and said, ‘that guy’s a ball player,’” Ellis said, according to the outlet. “But beyond talent, Gary had character. He came from a strong, spiritual family. Grambling was the place he needed to be.” The greatness that Ellis recognized did materialize. Eave became an All-American pitcher and secured three SWAC championships for the Historically Black College and University (HBCU). He went on to Major League Baseball in 1985, drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 12th round, according to Baseball Reference. He later represented the Seattle Mariners and the San Francisco Giants. While this was rewarding, he still felt called...

Kevin Durant is making sure the community in which he was raised is a part of his success story. Durant is in his 19th season with the NBA and is reportedly one of the best basketball players to hit the court. This was reflected in his being named to the Top 75 as part of the 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. Durant’s career earnings have surpassed $501 million, according to Spotrac. Off the court, he is signed to a lifetime Nike deal, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. He is also the co-founder of Boardroom, a sports, media, and entertainment brand launched alongside his business partner Rich Kleiman. Additionally, he is a serial investor through his venture capital firm Thirty Five Ventures (35V), which has a portfolio that includes NJ/NY Gotham Football Club of the National Women’s Soccer League, plant-based superfood nutrition company Happy Viking, and health tracking firm WHOOP. 35V’s website states it has invested in more than 100 startups. As his impact grows, Durant is also...

South Carolina State University has launched new degrees to diversify the STEM sector. According to a news release, the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) will offer three engineering bachelor’s degrees in Spring 2026. The first is computer engineering, a combination of computer science and electrical design, which will prepare students to develop hardware and software systems using artificial intelligence, automation, and advanced computing. The second is electrical engineering, which will provide learning opportunities focused on “renewable energy systems, embedded technologies, and sustainable innovation.” The third listed is mechanical engineering for students interested in pursuing careers in aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, and robotics industries. Launching Master’s Degree In Cybersecurity As it relates to graduate programs, the HBCU has also launched a remote online master’s degree in cybersecurity with options to laser-focus on network defense, digital...

Heidi Anderson, president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), has filed a $1 million defamation lawsuit against former professor Donna Satterlee over Satterlee’s allegations of plagiarism and racism. Anderson, who is Black, holds a Ph.D. in pharmacy administration from Purdue University, according to The Washington Post. She became UMES president in 2018. In July 2025, Satterlee, who is white, had filed a lawsuit against UMES, Anderson, and other individuals at the school, citing wrongful termination. And later, she filed a complaint with the school accusing Anderson of plagiarizing parts of her 1986 dissertation. On Oct. 15, Satterlee appeared on the Newsmax network, repeating the plagiarism claims, calling Anderson a “scam artist,” and alleging reverse discrimination. “We cannot litigate the case in the press,” Anderson’s attorney, James Walker, told The Post. “We spoke to the school, and they reassured us verbally, in writing, and in an affidavit that Dr. Anderson...

Aliko Dangote, the wealthiest Black man in the world, is making a financial commitment to Nigeria’s education system through a philanthropic initiative. The Aliko Dangote Foundation announced it will invest 1 trillion naira, approximately $688 million USD, over the next 10 years to support education initiatives across the country, according to Business Insider Africa. The pledge is one of the largest private investments in Nigeria’s education sector and aims to expand access to schooling while strengthening academic outcomes nationwide. The program is set to begin in 2026 with support for 45,000 students, eventually reaching around 1.33 million over a decade, notes the outlet. The foundation said the initiative will focus on students studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as girls’ education and teacher training. Dangote, who serves as chairman of the foundation, said the initiative is intended to address financial barriers that prevent many Nigerian...

Omar Shaheed III stepped into unfamiliar territory in technology, and now he is setting an example after accomplishing a historical first. The 23-year-old graduated from Berkeley High School in 2020 and was offered an opportunity to apply to South Carolina State University’s mechatronics engineering program by Dr. Hasanul Basher, a professor and chairman of SC State’s Department of Engineering Technology, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™. The program was in its infancy, and Shaheed was its first student. The program is geared toward equipping students in electronics, control systems, robotics, communications, computer technology, and power systems to work at companies such as Boeing, BMW, Eli Lilly, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, according to information on the program’s website. When Dr. Basher approached Shaheed, the program was still in development at the Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Shaheed admitted he was...

Howard University is advancing artificial intelligence education. According to a news release, the university recently hosted “Shaping the Future: AI, Tech Innovation, and the Next-Generation Workforce,” a campus conversation aimed at connecting national priorities, emerging research, and regional initiatives with opportunities for HBCU students. The discussion was led by Talitha Washington, Ph.D., executive director of the Howard University Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics, and moderated by Nicholas Abram, a College of Engineering and Architecture computer science junior and Karsh STEM scholar. The panel included U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD); U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA); and College of Engineering and Architecture Dean Kimberly L. Jones, Ph.D. View this post on Instagram As the release notes, Dr. Washington opened the event by emphasizing the importance of preparing students for an AI-driven future. She highlighted new AI courses debuting this spring, an AI certificate...

The U.S. Department of Education will be deploying a new round of mental health grants. According t o Education Week, the Education Department will distribute more than $208 million to school-based mental health programs to train and hire additional providers and psychologists. The funding follows the Trump administration’s decision in April to cut over 200 health grants, totaling $1 billion, for recipients who incorporated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments into hiring, recruitment, training, and certification practices, notes a separate Education Week article. In a news release, the Department of Education claim the grants that were discontinued prioritized “the racial characteristics of providers and divisive ideologies, instead of focusing on competent provision of proven mental health interventions for students.” Now, the Education Department has awarded a new round of grants to 65 recipients. Education Week reports that 33 of those recipients are “rural states...

Grambling State University (GSU) criminal justice major Janiah Tims graduated on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, with a decorated resume — and a graduation cap to match. With a 3.94 GPA, Tims graduated as valedictorian and the highest-ranking student of GSU’s Fall 2025 class, Grambling State News reports . She completed her degree in just two and a half years, having entered college with 21 dual-enrollment credits earned while attending Bastrop High School in Bastrop, LA. Although the curriculum was “pretty hard,” Tims said it helped prepare her for success as she arrived at the Historically Black College and University, per the outlet. “I was really doing the same kind of work in the dual enrollment courses that I ended up doing in college,” Tims told Grambling State News. “So there really wasn’t a big difference.” Tims said she completed most of her core college requirements through dual enrollment, including English 101 and 102, History 101 and 102, Music Appreciation, and Psychology 102....

The gift that keeps on giving, MacKenzie Scott, has made another contribution to an HBCU. As previously reported by AFROTECH™ , the philanthropist, who acquired the vast majority of her $35 billion net worth following a divorce from Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, has donated millions to various Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She was inspired to give to others by the late author Toni Morrison, who was her teacher and mentor. After Scott became a billionaire, she pledged to give half her wealth away and signed The Giving Pledge. Some of her investments in higher education this year alone include: Voorhees University ($19 million) Howard University ($80 million) Spelman College ($38 million) Morgan State University ($63 million) Norfolk State University ($50 million) Winston-Salem State University ($50 million) North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University ($63 million) Prairie View A&M University ($63 million) Dillard University ($19 million) “This gift is more...

Former President Barack Obama has confirmed that the long-awaited Obama Presidential Center in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park will open in June 2026. Speaking during a conversation at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR, on Monday, Dec. 1, Obama narrowed the opening to a specific month but did not give an exact date, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “We’re going to open in June so that y’all don’t have to bring your coats up,” he said, per the outlet, bringing some clarity to a project that has been over a decade in the making. The Obama Presidential Center, first announced in 2015, was originally expected to open in 2021. Construction was delayed multiple times due to federal reviews and legal challenges, with groundbreaking only beginning in 2021. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the $800 million center, which is now on track to be the most expensive presidential center in U.S. history, spans 20 acres, and features a 225-foot museum tower, an...

A major new investment from billionaire Michael Bloomberg is helping expand educational access for Black students through a partnership that brings K–12 learning directly to the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Bloomberg Philanthropies, together with the national education organization City Fund, has committed $20 million ($10 million each) to support public charter schools and connect students with early college opportunities at nearby HBCUs, according to a press release. The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) will be a key partner in the effort. Forbes notes that the new funding supports two schools in Alabama’s Black Belt region, an area historically underserved in public education. The first is the D.C. Wolfe Charter School in Shorter, a redevelopment of the former D.C. Wolfe Elementary School that is expected to open in fall 2026, just minutes from Tuskegee University. The second, I Dream Big Academy, opened in August 2025 on the campus of Stillman...