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Students at Queens High School for the Sciences — the New York borough’s only specialized high school — are pushing to move to a brand-new building, relocating from the second floor of York College’s Jamaica building. Citing issues including overcrowding and the lack of a kitchen and auditorium, students hope to move into the new city-built school at 165-15 88th Ave., scheduled to open in fall 2026, ChalkBeat New York reports . Sophomore Vinny Dong has twice addressed the Panel for Educational Policy, the school board that handles school location proposals, about his school’s conditions. “We have a gym shared with a college that’s two blocks away, for 514 students. We have a library that’s also shared, even though it’s critical for our educational content and classes,” Dong told the panel in October 2025, per ChalkBeat. At least three of the seven parent boards in the borough, along with the citywide high school parent council, also support relocation or creating an entirely new...
Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is dedicated to introducing the youth to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). Abdul-Jabbar was the leading basketball scorer with 38,387 points until LeBron James broke his record in 2023, per NBC News. Now he is working to ensure youth in underserved communities can have a “shot that can’t be blocked” through the Skyhook Foundation, its website mentions . He launched the foundation in 2010 and has reached more than 15,400 youth, per the foundation’s website. Its flagship program is Camp Skyhook, a five-day experience brought to life through a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, UCLA, and NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, to introduce fourth- and fifth-graders to a STEAM-based, immersive, and hands-on curriculum. The camp also emphasizes collaboration and includes activities such as hiking, swimming, skits, and campfires, notes its website. It takes place at Clear Creek Outdoor Education Center...
The Department of Education has updated its qualifications for professional and graduate degrees. According to the Association of American Universities, the Department of Education under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R.1) has made changes that will impact student loan borrowers. It has imposed a $100,000 lifetime cap on borrowing for graduate students, who can take out loans of no more than $20,500 per year, while professional students have a $200,000 lifetime cap and cannot borrow more than $50,000. Additionally, the Department of Education has dismantled the Grad PLUS loan program. According to Federal Student Aid, borrowers used the loan for “education expenses not covered by other financial aid.” The Department has also shifted the goal post for what constitutes a professional degree program. It classifies medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, law, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, chiropractic, theology, and clinical psychology as professional...
MacKenzie Scott is on an HBCU funding tour. Scott has recently made multiple donations to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including two consecutive record-setting donations to Prairie View A&M University ($63 million) and Bowie State University ($50 million). According to press releases, this marked the most significant single contribution in each institution’s history. “Her generosity arrives at a pivotal moment in our 160-year story. It empowers us to expand access, elevate our research and academic excellence, and uplift generations of students who will lead, serve and innovate,” Dr. Aminta H. Breaux, president of Bowie State University, said in a press release. “Higher education is the pathway to upward social mobility for our students and the communities we serve, and, with this gift, their futures are brighter than ever.” Prairie View A&M University President Tomikia P. LeGrande commented: “This gift is more than generous — it is defining and...
Several prominent Black philanthropists have been investing in HBCUs. Forbes reports that funding to HBCUs has been on the rise amid a significant drop in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts under the Trump administration. Donating to HBCUs is vital because it strengthens representation across industries and fosters innovative and diverse perspectives that drive meaningful change, extending far beyond classroom walls into venture capital, business, technology, entertainment, and beyond. Examples of innovators from HBCUs from this year alone include Morgan State University graduate Peter Iwuh. He’s making waves through Tykoon AI, which is a platform that empowers student-athletes at HBCUs in the name, image, and likeness landscape by helping them find nearby opportunities, create merch, and more, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. Morgan State University is also home to alumni Kiante Bush and Clarevonte “Clay” Williams, who are the co-founders of Venture for T.H.E.M.,...
SNIPES USA, the leading footwear retailer connecting streetwear culture with community and creativity, has launched a series of campus activations at Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( HBCUs). Through its Pay It Forward initiative, launched in 2022, SNIPES has funded HBCU scholarships and campus programs at Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Morgan State University, Central State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), Norfolk State University, and Hampton University, according to a news release shared with AFROTECH™. The initiative is rooted in SNIPES’ HBCU strategy, built on three core pillars: cultural celebration and connection, educational empowerment, and sustainable community integration. “Our work with HBCUs goes far beyond a campaign — it’s a commitment,” SNIPES USA Chief Marketing Officer Kelley Walton...
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) has opened the Joyce F. Brown Academic Building, its first new academic facility in nearly 50 years, named in honor of outgoing president Dr. Joyce F. Brown, according to a press release from the institute. FIT is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). The 10-story, 100,000-square-foot building, located in New York City, features 26 energy-efficient classrooms and studios, collaborative student spaces, and the Knitting Lab, which is now the largest campus knitting and weaving facility in the country, per the release. Students, faculty, alumni, and industry professionals attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 23, 2025, ELLE reports, recognizing Dr. Brown’s 27 years of leadership since she assumed the role in 1998. Among her milestones, she is also FIT’s first Black president and first woman president, as previously reported by AFROTECH. Throughout her tenure, she has focused on expanding educational access and creating...
The impact of the reversal of affirmative action is proving to be harmful for Black students. Black Student Enrollment Declines In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court banned affirmative action in college admissions, meaning race-based admissions could no longer be considered in college decisions. Two years later, data reveal the outcome of that decision. AP News reports that enrollment data from 20 colleges show a decline in the enrollment of Black students. Most of the colleges surveyed have a smaller population of Black students than in Fall 2023, with some campuses logging Black students as low as 2% of their first-year class. The study included Columbia University, Harvard University, Emory University, Yale University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith College, Amherst College, Haverford College, Carleton College, Swarthmore College, Wellesley College, Tulane University, Williams College, Cornell University, Colgate University, Bates College, University of...
A hub has opened in Houston’s historic Third Ward to combat health and housing disparities. Urban Public Health and Housing On Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2025, Texas Southern University unveiled a new Institute, Urban Public Health and Housing, which resides in the W.R. Banks Child Development Center, according to a news release . The 6,000-square-foot hub will address public health, affordable housing, and community wellness. It was also a focus area for the late Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who secured a $2 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration for the initiative, the Houston Chronicle reports. She wanted Third Ward to be the “example to impoverished communities around the nation.” “It’s a reinvestment in the future of urban public health, housing, and community empowerment,” said Michelle John, Texas Southern’s vice president for research and innovation, according to the outlet. The hub will offer conference and workforce training rooms,...
Robert F. Smith is positioning his portfolio for success in generative AI and wants to do the same for HBCU students. Per IBM, generative AI takes a user prompt and creates original text, images, audio, or software code. In a fireside chat with Harold L. Martin Sr., Ph.D. — chancellor emeritus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University — Smith, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, discussed the impact of generative AI on the tech industry and his work with the technology. Smith said he has already been able to position his portfolio companies as frontrunners within their sectors through the use of gen AI. “I have the good fortune that our organization is of the size that we are top-five customer for Amazon, Microsoft, and Google,” Smith said during the conversation. “So I get unique sets of access to resources for my portfolio companies to enable them to be first in the industries that they’re in to have gen AI-enabled products in those...
A new collaboration seeks to boost student pathways into healthcare and IT careers. eHBCU The first digital HBCU consortium in the U.S., eHBCU, was launched in July to ensure Black learners could obtain degrees, certifications, and mentorship, as well as expand their access to career pipelines, according to information shared with AFROTECH™. It launched with a coalition of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), including P ensole Lewis College of Business & Design, D elaware State University, Southern University and A&M College (Baton Rouge, LA), Southern University at New Orleans, Southern University at Shreveport (LA), and Alabama State University. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, eHBCU launched with 10 undergraduate degrees, 13 graduate degrees, and 35 certification programs created with “employer input,” per a press release, to ensure students are equipped for the workforce. Areas of learning include criminal justice administration, psychology, health information...
HBCUs have received a significant boost. According to a press release shared with AFROTECH™, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has donated $50 million through its Founder Initiatives portfolio and in collaboration with key Atlanta institutions to benefit Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, and Spelman College, all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Atlanta area. The funding aims to help students complete their education through gap scholarships. To be eligible, students must have explored other routes of funding such as scholarships, federal grants, state assistance, and loan programs, and be in good standing academically, the press release notes. By 2026, the donation will directly assist nearly 10,000 students. “This investment affirms that every Spelman scholar deserves access to a world-class education. It expands our ability to bridge financial gaps and support students through to graduation,” Spelman College Interim...
A first-of-its-kind initiative has made its way into Alabama’s Birmingham City Schools to improve student outcomes. Goodr Goodr continues to expand its footprint in education in an effort to make fresh food accessible to students. Goodr is a sustainable food waste management company that was founded by Jasmine Crowe-Houston in 2017, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. In 2021, it opened its first grocery store in Atlanta’s McNair Middle School. Huffman Middle School In October 2025, Goodr announced it had taken its efforts to Huffman Middle School, opening a 300-square-foot grocery store that is reportedly the “first of its kind in the Birmingham City Schools district,” according to a post on LinkedIn. Goodr’s grocery store is in partnership with Birmingham City Schools and Birmingham City Council District 1 Councilor Clinton Woods, per information shared on the middle school’s website. The grocery store will be solely for students and their families, and WVMT 13 reports that they can...
Campus, a two-year accredited school backed by Shaquille O’Neal, has acquired an AI startup. Campus As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the school was founded by Tade Oyerinde and backed by more than $100 million from investors such as O’Neal, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Discord Founder Jason Citron, Figma Founder Dylan Field, Joe Lonsdale, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, and Bloomberg Beta . It features instruction led by part-time faculty from top-tier higher learning institutions such as Stanford University, Howard University, and Princeton University. According to its website, it offers various programs, such as an associate’s degree in business administration and information technology, as well as concentrations in applied AI. Additionally, students can earn diplomas in cosmetology, barbering, medical assisting, phlebotomy, and more. Students also won’t have to be as burdened with the costs of higher learning, which was Oyerinde’s intention from the start. “We did not want to add $1...
Grambling State University President Martin Lemelle Jr. is a champion of belonging. President Lemelle is a native of the community and once walked the halls of the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) to earn a bachelor of science degree in accounting. In his senior year, his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., interviewed him for their magazine. When asked about his career aspirations, he named two possibilities at the time: serving in the U.S. Congress or becoming a college president. “Through the gift and grace of this wonderful thing we call life, I’ve had the opportunity to run for Congress, and I’m currently serving as a university president. So, when you set those intentions and you’re pure about the motive, the universe, God will open up spaces for you that allow you to live that out,” he told AFROTECH™ in an interview. In April 2024, Lemelle officially assumed his post as the 11th president of Grambling State University. He worked at the school from...