DSU receives $2M in support of eHBCU initiative.
Delaware State University on Monday announced a $2 million grant from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) to support the development of eHBCU, a first-of-its-kind online learning consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The gift was announced as part of $16 million in grants from the Lily Endowment to TMCF to advance capacity building and innovation in TMCF member schools. TMCF is the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black college community.
eHBCU, founded and headquartered at Delaware State University, seeks to expand access to higher education by delivering the career-centered, academically rigorous experience of HBCUs to students anywhere. The initiative’s original investors were Blue Meridian Partners. The consortium is comprised of Alabama State University in Birmingham, the Southern University System in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana, and Pensole Lewis College in Detroit, the only HBCU design school in the country.
The TMCF grant follows a summer Forbes ranking of highly regarded online programs which placed Delaware State University as the second-ranked online program in the HBCU community, highlighting the University’s emphasis on digital programming, including eHBCU and traditional undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
TMCF President Dr. Harry Williams commented on the announcement: “At TMCF, we leverage the power of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which excel at building citizen scholars at the highest levels everywhere they go. Our work with the Lily Endowment, in our latest round of catalytic gifts for innovation and excellence, is another moment in the movement. eHBCU at Delaware State University and its partner schools, Pensole Lewis, Alabama State, and the Southern University system, is a tremendous example.”
Delaware State University President Tony Allen responded: “With eHBCU, we have a unique opportunity to reach tens of thousands of students in a new way that combines an excellent education with a focus on community service, career-focused curriculum, and the unmatched student experience of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. While eHBCU is open to everyone and working hard to create broad access, we also know that there are 500,000 African American online learners in the country and only 20,000 of them are pursuing their credentials, certifications, and degrees at an online HBCU. This investment, along with Blue Meridian Partners, will help us go after several target audiences who want the HBCU experience wherever they are in the world.”