HBCU Lincoln University Gets $2.9 Million Grant for Internet and Technology Accessibility

• Lincoln University will use the National Telecommunications and Information Administration grant for Chromebooks, mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, and classroom upgrades for distance learning.
• The Lincoln University grant project spans two years.
• The Connecting Minority Communities pilot program has awarded nearly $52 million to 19 schools.

Lincoln University (LU) students can look forward to new technology and internet resources in 2023 and beyond.

Last month, the historically Black college and university (HBCU) in Jefferson City, Missouri, announced it had received a $2.9 million grant to expand internet and technology resources.

Lincoln University will use the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) grant to create LU Connects, which will provide Chromebooks, USB drives, and mobile Wi-Fi hotspots for students. It will also improve on-campus Wi-Fi access points and upgrade more than 40 classrooms for distance learning access.

The grant also allows LU to hire a full-time student technology coordinator.

"By providing new technology and ensuring reliable, expanded internet access, this grant helps open doors for our students to learn to their full capability, reducing barriers they face," said Lincoln President John B. Moseley. "At the heart of our Lincoln University mission is ensuring our students have access to educational opportunities, and we are proud to share — and ultimately achieve — that aim with NTIA's Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program."

The grant, which runs through November 2024, is part of the NTIA's Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program to expand internet broadband and technology access and hire and train information technology staff for HBCUs, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), and minority-serving institutions (MSIs).

The deadline for schools to apply to the grant program ended on Dec. 1, 2021. However, NTIA is still reviewing more than 170 applications and will continue to announce grant winners as they progress.

So far, the NTIA has awarded some $51.9 million to 19 schools across the U.S. The largest number of school programs to benefit from the award focus on digital literacy skills and workforce training/economic growth.

These are the HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs that have received grants through the NTIA Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program:

• J.F. Drake State Community and Technical College, Alabama — $2.4 million
• University of West Alabama, Alabama — $1.6 million
• Tohono O'odham Community College, Arizona — $1.9 million
• Dine College, Arizona — $2.9 million
• California State University, Sacramento — $2.9 million
• Merced College, California — $2.9 million
• California State University, Fresno — $2.4 million
• Mount Saint Mary's University, California — $747,000
• California State University, Dominguez Hills — $5.3 million
• Long Beach City College, California — $3 million
• Albany State University, Georgia — $2.9 million
• College of the Marshall Islands — $1.7 million
• Southern University and A&M College, Louisiana — $6.4 million
• Lincoln University, Missouri — $2.9 million
• New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico — $2.9 million
• Mercy College, New York — $2.6 million
• North Carolina Central University, North Carolina — $2.9 million
• Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, Oklahoma — $754,000
• Eastern University, Pennsylvania — $2 million