LeMoyne-Owen College News October 29, 2022 New America awarded a total of $2.29 million to 18 grantees representing universities and colleges in the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) to bolster their efforts to embed diversity, equity and inclusion in technology development. Grants will be used to fund interdisciplinary teaching, career pipeline development, experiential learning and network building to advance social and racial justice, climate action, cybersecurity, data equity, human rights and more. “This year’s winning projects share a common attribute. They center on the needs of communities that have historically been excluded from access to new technology, decision making and opportunities to join the technology workforce,” said Andreen Soley, Director of Public Interest Technology at New America. “This equity and Inclusive focus is the engine that drives all Challenge projects. It means modeling the development of technologies through co-designing with the communities and individuals that are meant to be recipients of the tools being deployed. It also means thoughtfully engaging the work that minority-serving institutions contribute to the growing PIT field.” The Network Challenge grants are exclusively available via application to members of PIT-UN, comprising 48 diverse academic institutions working to strengthen public interest technology as a discipline and a career. It brings together students and educators from multiple disciplines to solve the toughest challenges our country and world face. Over the past three years, the grant has funded 100 projects totaling $14 million. For LeMoyne-Owen College, Principal Investigator Dr. Denise Ferebee was chosen for Public Interest Technology: Building Blocks of Data Analytics. The network and challenge grants are funded through the support of the Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Mastercard Impact Fund with support from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, The Raikes Foundation, Schmidt Futures and The Siegel Family Endowment. LaTasha Denard Executive Assistant HBCU Library Alliance (678) 210-5801 ext. 102 http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> ldenard@hbculibraries.org<mailto:ldenard@hbculibraries.org> "Transforming for Tomorrow while Preserving the Past." Sandra M. Phoenix, Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance 678-210-5801 ext. 101 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Seek justice, honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/