Morgan State University Awarded $6.25M From Apple, Google
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Morgan State University announced that the school awarded 2 grants from Google and Apple totaling $6.25 million on Thursday.
Morgan was one of 4 recipients of a new $1.25 million Apple Innovation Grant. The three-year grant is a part of Apple's Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. The university was also awarded by Google a one-time unrestricted financial $5 million grant. The money will be used to support schools of engineering at HBCUs and to diversify STEM.
"Apple's investment in Morgan underscores a recognition in the proven ability of HBCUs to produce top talent that not only enhances workforce diversity, but also contributes to the advancement of innovation and global competitiveness in critical STEM fields," said David K. Wilson, president of Morgan State University. "With this new Apple Innovation Grant, we can further enhance the resources available at our world-class School of Engineering and better prepare our graduates to secure highly sought-after careers in cutting-edge fields of engineering and make immediate and meaningful contributions."
The Innovation Grant will provide funding and support for lab space, guest lectures, scholarships, fellowships, faculty training and more.
"The HBCU community is home to incredible Black talent and we are thrilled to work alongside these universities to enhance the opportunities for their students," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. "We know many jobs of the future will be in innovative areas like silicon engineering and we want to help ensure the leaders of tomorrow have access to transformational learning opportunities."
"Being awarded the 2021 Apple Innovation Grant not only builds capacity in VLSI chip design here at Morgan's Mitchell School of Engineering, it also bridges the industry-academia divide by providing an opportunity to enhance our programs and curricula, to cultivate faculty and their research expertise, and to impact workforce development and talent acquisition," said Oscar Barton, Jr., Ph.D, PE, dean of the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering at Morgan State University.