NSU Highlights $3.8M Program during HBCU Week
Norfolk State University has been selected to have one of its programs highlighted during the Annual National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Week Conference scheduled for September 15-19 in Philadelphia.
The annual conference, which is planned under the leadership of the White House Initiative on HBCUs, with input from the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs and its conference sponsors, provides a forum to exchange information and share innovations among and between institutions.
Stakeholders, which include federal agencies, private sector companies and philanthropic organizations) provide an overview of successful engagements that if replicated could improve instruction, degree completion and the understanding of federal policies that shape and support higher education.
NSU will showcase a $3.8 million program from federal funds that improved broadband access on the NSU campus as well as the surrounding community by offering a digital inclusion program and increasing the training services provided to entrepreneurs and Minority Business Entities in the Norfolk area.
NSU President Javaune Adams-Gaston, Ph.D., and graduate student Makayla Perkins will speak about the program as part of a video montage of programs during HBCU Week.
“These investments have been critically important,” Dr. Adams-Gaston said in the video. She pointed out that the funds provided the capability to help produce the next generation of leaders in the field, “by creating workforce development and student experiential learning opportunities via partnerships with local school districts and private K-12 schools,” she added.
Graduate student Makayla Perkins will speak about the program as part of a video montage of programs during HBCU Week.
Perkins, a cyberpsychology major, helped with the program. “This initiative provided me with invaluable experience in assisting the Chief Information Officer and Office of Information Technology in effectively communicating their solutions to University personnel — a crucial aspect in integrating technology to achieve university goals,” she said as part of the video. The initiative, Perkins continued, “not only benefited me but also my classmates, as we are now equipped with tools and resources that will enhance our work in the classroom and in our communities.”
