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Norfolk State breaks ground on $118M science building
Norfolk State University on Friday broke ground on a $118 million science building. The new 131,376-square-foot facility, which is being built on the northwest side of the HBCU‘s main campus, will replace the Roy A. Woods Science Building. Once complete, it will house teaching and research labs, classrooms, a planetarium, a greenhouse and student-centered collaboration […]
Hampton University gets new CFO
Hampton University has tapped Robert Pompey as its new chief financial officer and senior vice president for business and finance, Hampton University President Darrell K. Williams announced April 16. As CFO, Pompey will oversee the HBCU‘s financial operations, including budgeting, investments, financial reporting and long-term fiscal strategy. He will also provide oversight over human resour[...]
Norfolk State raises profile with STEM investments
At Norfolk State University, President Javaune Adams-Gaston sees the school’s profile rising as surely as the new $118 million science building expected to open in fall 2027. The four-story, 131,000-square-foot facility will replace one of the school’s oldest buildings, and it heralds a big STEM push at the school that includes new master’s degree programs […]
SCHEV approves ODU/NSU Joint School of Public Health
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) has approved the Joint School of Public Health (JSPH), offered by Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University, the schools announced on Thursday. Council members approved the school at a Sept. 17 meeting, according to a SHEV spokesperson. “We have a real opportunity to create and […]
A fair share
Virginia’s first Black governor says it’s past time for the state’s historically Black colleges and universities to receive their fair share of the pie. Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, a Virginia Union University alumnus, jokes that he has been advocating for increased state funding for Virginia HBCUs “for about a hundred years.” The Biden administration […]
Head of the class
Donald Alexander Jr. considered multiple schools, as well as the Air Force, before he landed at Norfolk State University in 2019. The Chesapeake native grew up with strong ties to the university, one of Virginia’s two public historically Black colleges and universities. As an elementary schooler, Alexander went to summer camp on Norfolk State‘s campus, […]
Two HBCUs eye region for satellite campus
Northern Virginia economic development officials are working with Virginia’s two public historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to establish a joint satellite campus in the region that officials say would fill a gap in higher-ed offerings in Virginia’s largest population center. The presidents of Virginia State University and Norfolk State University have been talking with[...]
White House taps Va. HBCU presidents for advisory board
The presidents of Virginia State University and Norfolk State University are on the list of intended appointees to the President‘s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Biden administration announced on March 31. Virginia State University President Makola M. Abdullah, Norfolk State University President Javaune Adams-Gaston and Janeen Uzzell, CEO of the [&hell[...]
Bank of America grants VUU $1M
Bank of America granted Virginia Union University $1 million for its new banking and financial services workforce development program, the university announced Monday. VUU’s Sydney Lewis School of Business will lead the program, called MORE for My Opportunity is Real Essential, in partnership with the university’s workforce development division and its Evelyn Reid Syphax School [&helli[...]
STEM-ming the tide
Mariah Simmons arrived at Virginia State University in 2016 with a dream of becoming the first computer scientist in her family. The week before school started, she enrolled in an on-campus mentorship program called Project Knowledge, which provided her a road map for navigating college. Simmons, now 23, heard stories from students who had been […]
What’s good for HBCUs is good for Virginia business
Earlier this year, I issued a call for the commonwealth to confront and reassess its disproportionate support of its historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). I wrote a letter to the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and the respective leadership of the General Assembly. At this juncture, I have not received any acknowledgment or response […]
Virginia Natural Gas donates $500K to Hampton University
Virginia Beach-based Virginia Natural Gas and its parent company, Southern Co., announced Thursday that the companies are donating $500,000 to Hampton University to support information technology infrastructure upgrades in light of new remote learning needs brought on by the pandemic. The funds, which are part of the Southern Co. Foundation’s $50 million HBCU (historically Black […]
