HBCU Digest September 24, 2014 Nigeria to Send 200 Students to HBCUs in 2015 Officials from Nigeria today announced a commitment to send 200 students from the African nation to historically Black colleges and universities beginning in 2015. The announcement was made by the Hon. Kingsley Kuku Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, during the annual White House Initiative on HBCUs conference. According to officials, 100 students will travel to the United States each semester during the academic year, with a goal of spurring economic development in Nigeria with the training they will receive at HBCUs. "Hon. Kingsley Kuku has a Presidential directive to synergize with the White House initiative for HBCUs : to explore and tap it's rich potentials that abound without compromising standards in our race to build a variable and competent workforce in the Niger Delta, as part of a deliberate program to ameliorate the years of neglect in the region," said Eugene Abels, Head Education at Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta." Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University have served as pilot institutions for the program, having enrolled students from the Niger Delta over the last two years through special programs. The announcement comes on the heels of the Young African Leaders Initiative<http://hbcudigest.com/young-african-leaders-enjoy-hbcu-experience/#more-97064>, which recently concluded at several Black colleges including Howard University, Morgan State University and Clark Atlanta University. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/2014meeting-form.html for the October 26-28, 2014 HBCU Library Alliance 6th Membership Meeting in Atlanta GA!