We Must Be The Change - Magazine - Page 7
ACTION: Education and workforce
Southern Company awards millions
in grants to HBCUs for technology
Grants are part of overall $50 million, multi-year
investment in historically black colleges and universities
Southern Company announced
in November we are awarding
grants to support technology for
21 historically black colleges and
universities (HBCUs) across several
states, through the Southern
Company Foundation.
This commitment is part of the
Southern Company system's
overall $50 million HBCU initiative,
announced in January 2020, to
provide students attending these
institutions with scholarships,
internships, leadership development and
access to technology and innovation
to support career readiness. This round
of grants will help address challenges
created by the pandemic by funding
technology tools, infrastructure support,
professional development and IT
services to select undergraduate HBCUs
within the Southern Company system’s
service footprint in Alabama, Georgia,
Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.
“We are so excited
about the partnership
… you all continue to
see the importance
of investing in the
community.”
- Morehouse School
of Medicine President
and Dean Dr.
Montgomery Rice.
“We are thrilled to partner with some
of the country’s leading institutions
of higher learning as we invest in the
next generation of technology leaders,”
said Tom Fanning, chairman, president
and CEO of Southern Company. “After
speaking with many institutions across
our footprint, we heard the call loud
and clear: new and better technology
is needed to deliver quality education
to students, now and in years to
come. The goal is to provide resources
that will stimulate the kind of critical
thinking that will allow students to
embrace ideas that will drive the
change required for success today
and into the future. We look forward
to seeing what students from these
universities will achieve through the
grants we are providing.”
Southern Company and its subsidiaries
are committed to the success of
HBCUs and honored to be part of
a growing group of corporate and
philanthropic partners who have
increased support for HBCUs in the
wake of the pandemic and mounting
calls for racial justice. Southern
Company is looking to increase the
spotlight on these institutions beyond
the current moment, underscoring
the importance of HBCUs in higher
education and in American life.
Morehouse School of Medicine President
and Dean Valerie Montgomery Rice,
M.D., is looking forward to what the
future holds. “We are so excited about
the partnership … you all continue to
see the importance of investing in the
community,” said Montgomery Rice.
As part of the $50 million initiative,
this round of allocations will be
awarded by the Southern Company
Foundation to qualifying institutions
in grants up to $500,000. Southern
Company intends to open additional
grant applications in support of other
needs at qualifying HBCUs soon.
The energy company will collaborate
with academic leaders from across its
footprint to identify areas of need and
channel resources into programs that
will create the most impact.
WE MUST BE THE CHANGE
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