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Barack and Michelle Obama want to invest in the next generation of leaders. Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship Alongside Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, the Obamas have established the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship program for second-year undergraduate students and community college transfer students who are entering their junior year in the fall. The program will provide scholarship winners with real work experiences rooted in “understanding, empathy, and cooperation,” with hopes of establishing long-lasting change, according to a statement shared from the Obama Foundation on LinkedIn. “We are looking for young people from every corner of this country who share a curiosity about the world and the conviction to want to make positive change within it—just like the scholarship’s founders. Students should have a passion for helping others, experience serving in or building community, and an expansive view of what’s possible through public service,” a statement on the...
Colin Kaepernick aims to equip youth with skills to use AI creatively and responsibly. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the former NFL star secured $4 million in funding to launch Lumi, an AI-powered storytelling platform designed to develop comics, graphic novels, manga, and other hybrid written-illustrated stories. The platform uses AI to help users create characters, define their traits and storylines, and leverage built-in image generation tools to bring their projects from concept to completion. Lumi aims to support students and teachers, according to its website. “I’ve seen struggling writers transform when they create a character that reflects who they are. I’ve seen teachers relax when they have tools that truly support, not replace, their role. Lumi was built for those moments,” Kaepernick said in a statement on the platform’s website. Kaepernick is now partnering with the Metro Nashville Public Schools district to pilot Lumi Story, according to The Tennessean. This...
The Education Department is changing its tune on the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in education. In February 2025, the Trump administration dismantled DEI-related programs, initiatives, and roles at the federal level, the Los Angeles Times reports . The same month, the Department of Education sent a letter to schools, discouraging them from considering race in college admissions, hiring processes, scholarship programs, and “ all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.” The letter claimed that upholding DEI efforts resulted in discrimination against white and Asian American students. According to The Hill, K-12 schools were also notified that upholding DEI would result in a loss of federal funding, and were asked to sign a certification to show they would be compliant with the order. Inside Higher Ed reports that, soon after, groups of education unions, a national association, and a public school district challenged the Trump administration’s actions in...
Coco Gauff has doubled down on her commitment to HBCU students. Gauff comes from a family of HBCU graduates, Tennis reports, but didn’t have a chance to follow suit, choosing her tennis career instead. She has secured numerous titles, including 2025 French Open champion, 2023 U.S. Open champion, and is the highest-paid women’s athlete for the third year in a row, according to Sportico. Yet, she told Tennis that if she weren’t playing the sport, an HBCU would be in her playbook. “If I didn’t play tennis, I would have loved to attend an HBCU,” she told the outlet. “I have family members on both sides, both my grandmothers went to HBCUs, uncle and aunt went to HBCUs, and growing up, just attending, going to HBCU Classic games and things like that.” Coco Gauff Scholarship Program Gauff donated $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) in 2025 to provide scholarships to HBCU students playing competitive tennis. This led to the launch of the Coco Gauff Scholarship Program, which...
A new bill has been passed that considers AI’s presence in small businesses. AI for Main Street Act Explained In October 2025, the AI for Main Street Act was introduced by Rep. Mark Alford (Republican for Missouri’s 4th District) and Rep. Hillary Scholten (Democrat for Michigan’s 3rd District). The bipartisan bill ensures that the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Centers will assist small businesses in adopting and evaluating AI by providing information, guidance, and training, per a press release shared by Rep. Alford’s office. The desired outcomes, outlined in the legislation, are to ensure small businesses understand best practices for using AI; can integrate it into business operations; and can plan for unexpected circumstances, protect data and intellectual property, improve cybersecurity, and increase customer trust, among others. In the press release, Rep. Scholten noted the legislation would ensure small businesses “aren’t being left behind” as new...
Kevin James will return to his post at Morris Brown College as president. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, James was removed from his post by the college’s Board of Trustees just over a week ago “without providing specific cause or substantive explanation,” he shared on LinkedIn. Trustee Nzinga Shaw was appointed interim president. James became the 19th president of Morris Brown College on March 1, 2019, and brought 24 years of experience as an educator to the role, notes Fox5Atlanta. Under his leadership, James helped Morris Brown College regain accreditation in 2021 after losing it in 2002 due to debt and financial mismanagement, per a separate AFROTECH™ article. James also restored access to federal financial aid, grew enrollment from 20 to over 540 students, and established long-term financial stability, among other accomplishments, per his LinkedIn post. He described the timing of his departure as “troubling” in the post, stating that the university was nearing an...
Student loan borrowers in default will have additional time to bring their accounts current before involuntary collections on federal loans resume. The U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2026, that it is delaying collection efforts for defaulted federal student loans, including wage garnishment and the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Per the news release, the temporary pause will remain in effect through July 2026, giving the Education Department more time to implement major student loan repayment reforms under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act signed in 2025. This will also provide borrowers with more time to consider the new repayment options, loan consolidation, or a rehabilitation program. In addition to a single standard repayment plan, the reforms include a new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan that waives unpaid interest for borrowers who make on-time payments but those payments do not fully cover accrued interest. In some instances, the Department...
Rapper Nas is behind a first-of-its-kind academic fellowship at Harvard University. Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship In 2013, the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship was established at Harvard University through the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research. It is reportedly the first academic fellowship named after a Hip-Hop artist, according to the Ivy League school’s website. The rapper, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, is known for “his lyrical skill, social analysis and commitment.” His works include a debut album “Illmatic” (1994), followed by “It Was Written” (1996) and later the “King’s Disease” trilogy (2020, 2021, 2022). He also is investing $2 million to establish The Hip-Hop Museum in The Bronx, alongside the Resorts World New York City casino, as AFROTECH™ perviously told you. The fellowship reflects what Nas said he always recognized in Hip-Hop. It is a form of education. “One thing that drew me to Hip-Hop was the things Kurtis Blow was saying, the things Melle...
There may soon be a shift in higher education. According to The Washington Times, the Department of Education will no longer fund college degree programs that cannot demonstrate their alumni earn more than high school graduates. This was decided by public- and private-sector policy stakeholders who voted on a decision that could impact higher education, including trade school certificates and graduate degrees. The rule ending support for “consistently failing programs” will take effect in July 2026 and will also impact eligibility for federal loans as well as Pell Grants, which have been helpful for low-income students. “After more than 15 years of regulatory uncertainty under the previous three administrations, we’ve developed an accountability framework that institutions can work with, students will benefit from, and taxpayers can rightfully expect to improve outcomes,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement, according to the outlet. The Department of...
As AI reshapes how students of all ages learn, retain information, and complete assignments, some enrollees at Louisiana State University (LSU) are facing cheating allegations. The allegations have created a significant backlog for the university’s Student Advocacy and Accountability Board (SAA), which reviews academic misconduct cases, many of them now tied to suspected AI use, WAFB 9 News reports. Suspected AI Use Puts Student’s Scholarship At Risk One student, identified only as Sarah, told WAFB 9 she was at risk of losing her scholarship after a professor gave her a zero on an assignment, claiming it was “93% AI-written.” “So, then I turn to the other people in my class, and they’re like, yeah, we got zeroes on it,” Sarah recalled. “We don’t know what’s happening. We email her. She emails us back and says she’s reported us to SAA.” Sarah said she received an automated message from the SAA after reaching out. The office informed her that it was backed up and that a case manager...
Morris Brown College, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) based in Atlanta, GA, has parted ways with Kevin James as its president. James, the institution’s 19th president, shared the news in a LinkedIn post on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, saying the Board of Trustees fired him “without providing a specific cause or substantive explanation.” “This action is deeply concerning,” James wrote. “Research and my lived experience demonstrate that many HBCUs have struggled with board overreach and interference. Unfortunately, those dynamics are evident in this situation.” James said the Board’s decision “disregards established governance best practices” and violates his presidential contract, which runs through 2029. He shared plans to “pursue all rights and remedies” available under the agreement. “Morris Brown College has literally made history under my leadership as President,” James said in his post, citing a successful annual evaluation and continually strong performance...
College educators are reportedly rethinking their teaching methods as Gen Z students arrive on campus with weaker reading skills than previous generations. Nearly half of all Americans did not read a single book in 2025, and reading habits have declined by roughly 40% over the past decade, Fortune reports . Gen Z continues to lag behind other generations: Americans aged 18–29 read an average of just 5.8 books in 2025, the outlet notes. How Professors Are Adjusting Their Teaching Jessica Hooten Wilson, a professor of great books and humanities at Pepperdine University, told Fortune that some students now arrive in her classroom struggling to read even a single sentence or engage in basic critical thinking. Rather than lowering expectations, Wilson has adapted her approach to instruction. She now reads passages aloud with students, analyzes texts line by line, and returns repeatedly to a single poem or passage throughout a semester. The goal, she says, is to help students rebuild...
Howard University has introduced an AI course to prepare its students for leading-edge engineering roles, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™. The Historically Black College and University (HBCU) is rolling out an Intro to Artificial Intelligence course in spring 2026, in partnership with CodePath and with the financial support of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). Howard faculty and CodePath’s faculty network will work together on course instruction in areas including data structures, AI literacy, and agentic workflows, per the press release. “Our work is rooted in the idea that HBCUs are not only equipping students for coursework but also building skills vital to succeeding and leading in the workplace,” said Dr. Harry L. Williams, TMCF president and CEO, in the press release. “Through programs like this and professional development such as what our Innovation & Partnership arm provides, our HBCUs are elevating excellence and creating pathways to opportunity...
Amazon has launched a slate of initiatives to ensure learners are equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) training. During a session at CES 2026 titled “ Next-Gen Skills: Preparing Students for Tomorrow’s Tech, ” Ben Moskovich, senior manager of public policy at Amazon Web Services, shared that Amazon aims to train 4 million learners in AI and ensure that 10,000 educators are equipped with curricula by 2028. This goal is supported by $30 million in AWS promotional credits and an additional $1.5 million in cash prizes awarded to students who are victorious in the Presidential AI Challenge, a press release confirms. Presidential AI Challenge The Presidential AI Challenge is geared toward K-12 youth, educators, mentors, and community teams who are leveraging AI for real-world solutions, according to the White House. People of all backgrounds are encouraged to engage with the program and showcase their work nationally. The challenge stems from an executive order signed by President...
Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( HBCUs ) play a central role in the lives of Black students, fostering a sense of community that endures long after graduation. Yet many high school students remain largely unfamiliar with the institutions and their impact. On Jan. 2, 2026, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) released a new study titled “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges,” which surveyed nearly 150 students, teachers, and school counselors across seven high schools in the Northeast, Midwest, and West. Through the study, UNCF researchers identified a significant knowledge gap: 67% of teachers and 60% of counselors were somewhat, very, or extremely knowledgeable about HBCUs, while 61% of students reported little to no familiarity with the institutions. Additionally, over half of students surveyed — 53% — said their school counselors never or rarely suggested attending an HBCU, and 54% said counselors hardly ever provided resources about HBCU attendance. “The pivotal...