HBCU Infrastructure Bill Would Fund Tech Upgrades, Broadband

Historically Black colleges and universities could see additional grant funding for technology and broadband as part of the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, a federal bill which would require the U.S. Department of Education to award grants to minority-serving institutions to improve campus facilities through construction or renovation, making major repairs and investing in security.

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), a philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for Black students, issued a statement last week endorsing the bill, citing its potential to expand broadband access and improve equipment for research and instruction.

“HBCUs are too vitally important to our nation’s success, but systemic issues have made it so that our institutions need major help with improving and updating their facilities,” UNCF President and CEO Michael Lomax said in a public statement. “To say that we believe the time for Congress to act to pass funding — grants, not loans — to help HBCUs would be an understatement ... HBCUs are producing graduates that change the world and bolster the economy now but imagine what they could do with updated equipment, improved facilities and cutting-edge technology.”

Lodriguez Murray, senior vice president of public policy and government affairs at UNCF, encouraged HBCU students, educators and other stakeholders to visit UNCF’s website to learn more about the bill and write to Congress to show their support for the legislation.

UNCF's announcement said the bill has so far been met largely with bipartisan support in Washington, D.C., and noted an earlier version of the bill, H.R. 3294, was co-sponsored by 218 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"To reach consensus among all the groups [with UNCF] representing African American, Hispanic and Asian members of Congress means that this bill has broad appeal and support. It also means that the time is now for Democrats and Republicans to join us and pass this bill … This is the way we can make significant change on our campuses and improve our facilities,” Murray said in a public statement. “We must act now to ensure Congress acts now.”