Shelton State’s President Joins HBCUs At Historic DC Event

Shelton State Community College President Dr. Jonathan Koh was among 50 presidents of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) invited from across the country to Washington D.C. by Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt and Georgia Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock for the announcement of bipartisan legislation.

The HBCU Research Capacity Act, legislation would streamline federal funding opportunities for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), especially for research grants. HBCUs receive less than 1% of the roughly $60 billion in federal research and development (R&D) funding allocated to colleges and universities despite producing 18% of the nation's STEM graduates.

Get our free mobile app

“It was a privilege to be joined by so many HBCU presidents from across the nation. One of my biggest takeaways from the roundtable was our shared passion for ensuring all HBCUs have the resources available to provide their students with the highest level of opportunity – which I’m committed to continue fighting for,” Senator Britt wrote in a press release. “I am proud to represent the state with the most HBCUs in the nation. As a former trustee to one of Alabama’s 14 HBCUs, I’ve seen firsthand how impactful these institutions are – I am a fierce advocate for their funding, not only in Alabama, but also nationwide. I’m proud to co-lead this commonsense legislation with Senator Warnock, which will help these institutions grow their research capacity and continue paving the way for generations of students.”

According to the joint press release the bill would, "establish a federal clearinghouse of all available federal grant opportunities for HBCUs to help them apply for federal funding and best support their missions and students. Specifically, the HBCU Research Capacity Act would direct the Secretary of Education to coordinate with federal agencies to create a centralized website listing these grant opportunities. This website would also share best practices for building research capacity, including recommendations from Federal, State, and local organizations. In addition, the bill would require the Secretary of Education to:

• Assign personnel to administer the federal clearinghouse.
• Provide a written notification of the federal clearinghouse to HBCUs and Congress; and,
• Send an annual report regarding the clearinghouse to Congress and a quarterly update to HBCUs upon their consent.

Shelton State Community College (SSCU) has been considered an HBCU since it merged with the C.A. Fredd State Technical College in West End in 1994. With the merger SSCU inherited the HBCU designation, history and mission of educational access held by C.A. Fredd.

Shelton is one of only six community colleges in Alabama roughly a dozen nationwide that maintain the HBCU status.

While Shelton State and Tuscaloosa's other HBCU, Stillman College, collaborate, Stillman is a private institution.