by Preston FoerOctober 13, 2023, 8:29 p.m.
Each year, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) receive a fraction of the funding that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) provides to other science and engineering schools.
During fiscal year 2020, support to all HBCUs totaled approximately $940,000.
But dozens of universities other than HBCUs receive millions of dollars each year alone, some receiving hundreds of millions of dollars. For example, Johns Hopkins University received more than $900 million for science and engineering from the Department of Defense in fiscal year 2020.
Although HBCUs have fewer students because of their smaller student populations, non-HBCUs collectively receive nearly 3,000 times more Department of Defense science and engineering funding.
The Tougaloo University Research and Development Foundation (TCRDF) is on a mission to fill this gap.
TCRDF President John Rosenthal said the organization’s goal is to increase access to federal and private sector research grants and contracts by HBCUs through advocacy, coordination of partnerships, and support.
Last month, the University of South Florida became the latest school to partner with TCRDF.
“HBCUs have some challenges in terms of business development in pursuing, acquiring and managing large contracts and grants,” Rosenthal said. luck. “And the University of South Florida does that every day.”
He said many HBCUs do not have the infrastructure or subject matter expertise to pursue contracts with the Department of Defense. Through this new partnership with USF, we hope to develop our workforce, promote research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, and improve faculty knowledge.
The organization is focused on the defense sector because of its large budget and wide range of opportunities, Rosenthal added. DOD has more than a dozen university-affiliated research centers, but this year is the only year a research center was established at an HBCU.
Approximately 30% of African American STEM professionals graduate from HBCUs, yet the Pentagon’s research funding remains low, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a speech announcing the new institute at Howard University. Only a small amount is allocated to these schools.
Building relationships for long-term success
Over the past five years, USF’s Institute of Applied Engineering (IAE) has secured more than $95 million in federal contract opportunities with agencies such as U.S. Central Command and the Air Force.
Darren Schumacher is Chairman and CEO of IAE.
He said USF will assist with training and contractual arrangements with faculty, as well as help HBCU students secure internships and mentorship opportunities. According to Schumacher, this helps enable an upward cycle of social mobility.
“Ultimately, successful research depends on people working together,” Schumacher says.
Rosenthal hopes USF’s experience will help HBCUs achieve similar results and promote overall success for students and faculty.
For students interested in a career at the intersection of defense and technology, the Department of Defense offers hundreds of civilian positions in popular fields such as cyber and information technology, engineering, and government management and support.
“There’s also a financial incentive here, because when you increase research funding, you also increase indirect funding. And those are theoretically unrestricted funds, which benefit scholarships and other benefits to students. You can use it for whatever you can bring to it,” Rosenthal said.
TCRDF has existing relationships with universities such as Georgia Tech, Purdue University and Mississippi State University, and Rosenthal hopes more universities can become partners. One of his main goals is to find schools that are willing to work with HBCUs to produce tangible results, such as winning, acquiring and managing grants and contracts.
Rosenthal added that there could be a “revolution” for many schools if Congress did more to mandate relationships with HBCUs, rather than simply encouraging them.
“We want instant success. But this is a long-term opportunity and success won’t happen overnight,” he says.