U.S. Grants Boost HBCUs to Diversify Educator, STEM Fields

The U.S. Department of Education announced today that it is awarding grants to eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) under the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program (Hawkins) and the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP). The Department is also making an additional award to establish a National Technical Assistance Center to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities.

The Biden-Harris Administration was the first to secure funding for the Hawkins program, which awards grants to HBCUs, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to increase the number of and retain well-prepared teachers from diverse backgrounds serving in our nation’s most underserved elementary and secondary schools. These institutions have historically prepared a disproportionate share of the nation’s teachers of color — producing 50% of all Black teachers – and play a key role in efforts to eliminate educator shortages and increase educator diversity, preparing teachers who can provide culturally and linguistically responsive teaching in underserved schools. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, four HBCUs are receiving grants.

Tomorrow, the Department will award $1.5 million to establish a National Technical Assistance Center to Diversify the Workforce Serving Children with Disabilities (Center). This Center will support HBCUs, TCCUs, and other MSIs that offer high-quality degree or certification programs in early intervention, early childhood special education, special education, or related services. The Center will help these institutions improve and develop high-quality programs and increase the number of programs that successfully receive related federal grants.

These announcements are part of the Department’s comprehensive efforts since Day One of the Administration to increase educator diversity. The Biden-Harris Administration has made educator diversity a core component of its efforts to strengthen and support the teaching profession, prioritizing educator diversity in a range of grant programs, and has encouraged and supported state efforts to increase educator diversity.

As part of the Administration’s efforts to increase the diversity of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) professions – including a pipeline of STEM educators – the Department is also announcing new MSEIP grant awards to support long-range improvement to science and engineering education to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities, particularly minority women, in STEM careers. In FY24, four HBCUs are receiving grants to address barriers for minority students entering the STEM field.

“Our nation’s beautiful diversity is one of our greatest cultural and economic strengths. The grants announced today build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments in HBCUs and will help put more teachers of color in classrooms and in STEM careers-two key professions of today and tomorrow’s workforce,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The four HBCUs receiving funding under the Augustus F. Hawkins program and the four receiving Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program awards will use the grants to further address longstanding barriers for underserved and underrepresented students.”

The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through HBCUs also established the Executive HBCU Space Lab, a new collaboration between HBCUs, the Federal government, and industry partners to increase HBCU engagement in space-related federal contracting. The Executive HBCU Space Lab is a solutions-oriented initiative that will release resources including SpaceTechConnect, a
free platform to highlight space-related capabilities at HBCUs.

A list of the Hawkins grants to HBCUs is below: