The Simons Foundation and its sister organization, Simons Foundation International, are accepting applications for two new programs aimed at strengthening scientific research at historically Black colleges and universities, a five-year, $23 million investment that targets one of the most persistent obstacles facing HBCU faculty: time.
The first initiative will fund up to two Centers of Excellence at HBCUs. Each center must be housed at an accredited HBCU as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965 and led by a tenured faculty member serving as principal investigator and director. Beyond advancing research, the centers are designed to help students move into graduate STEM programs and to build partnerships with nearby research institutions.
The second, a faculty fellowship, takes direct aim at heavy course loads. The program will cover half of each fellow's teaching responsibilities, supporting up to four junior tenure-track faculty per campus, with as many as five HBCUs selected to participate. That protected time is meant to let fellows conduct research, publish and pursue federal grants.
The gap the fellowship addresses is well documented. Professors at HBCUs typically teach far more courses than peers at R1 institutions, the country's most heavily funded research universities, leaving less room for sustained inquiry and fewer opportunities for undergraduates to join research projects during the academic year.
Even so, HBCUs punch well above their weight. Though they make up roughly 3 percent of the nation's colleges and universities, they account for nearly 30 percent of Black graduates of science and engineering doctoral programs, achieving those results with a sliver of the resources available elsewhere.
The announcement builds on earlier work by the New York-based funder. In 2022, it awarded Spelman College a $5.7 million grant to reduce teaching loads for science and mathematics faculty and cover supplies, publications and conference travel.
Letters of intent for both programs are due Nov. 12. The foundation will host an informational webinar on Oct. 6, and questions can be directed to sfgrants@simonsfoundation.org.
