WASHINGTON
The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities is wrapping up a conference in Washington, D.C., today commemorating “National HBCU Week.” The White House Initiative, along with the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs, is tasked with maximizing federal grant opportunities and building private partnerships with HBCUs, as well as advising U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on how to best strengthen HBCUs.
In this vein, Spellings addressed assembled dignitaries during a press conference Tuesday during the event. Also on stage were Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert and Howard freshman Sabrina Simmons. The primary topics of discussion were the new Academic Competitiveness Grant and the national Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant. Qualified Pell Grant-eligible students began applying for the new grants on July 1. Together, the grants provide $790 million in funding for the 2006-2007 academic year and $4.5 billion over the next five years.
The grants hope to encourage students like Simmons to take more challenging high school courses and pursue high-demand college majors, specifically in math and science disciplines and also in certain foreign languages. Simmons said her goal is to put her studies in dietetics to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, adding, “I want to do research in that field. I love biology, it’s my passion.”
Simmons’ passion has earned her a $750 grant, which she said will do much to defray sky-high science textbook costs.
“It’s really a two-part grant,” that in essence doubles the Pell Grant, Spellings said. She noted that the academic competitiveness grants provide additional resources of $750 for freshmen and $1,350 for sophomores. Students like Simmons, who pursue math and science fields, can get an additional $4,000 a year.
“It’s very significant, and for the first time, we’ve said, ‘We want and need more Sabrinas, and we’re willing to make college more affordable to get more Sabrinas,” Spellings said.
