Black colleges to receive a $25M boost for cybersecurity ed
The Obama administration plans to award 13 historically black colleges and universities $25 million in grants to create a cybersecurity education consortium, Vice President Joe Biden is slated to announce Thursday in Norfolk, Virginia.
“This program … will help fill the growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in the U.S. job market at the same time that it helps to grow the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula for HBCUs,” according to a release from the White House. The grants will be distributed over five years by the Energy Department.
Participating schools include two- and four-year colleges, as well as research institutions in seven states and the Virgin Islands. The consortium will also include two national labs. Norfolk State University, where Biden and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz plan to make the announcement, is one of the colleges that will benefit from the funds.
“With these new grants, Norfolk State and other HBCUs will be better equipped to provide students with the training and skills necessary to combat current and future cyber threats,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in a statement.
Black students traditionally have not pursued computer science and technology careers, and experts say this grant could tap into unused potential at HBCUs like Hampton University in Virginia, Spelman College in Georgia and Tougaloo College in Mississippi. The full list of recipients will be released Thursday, a spokesman for the vice president said.
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