Diverse Education News August 3, 2021 Two More Georgia HBCUs Clear Pandemic Related Student Debt Morehouse College and Savannah State University have become the latest historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to clear student debt acquired since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. The funding comes directly from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, a federal government pledge of $35 billion to help financially struggling college students and schools. Over half the student populations at Morehouse and Savannah State take out federal student loans. While Morehouse did not say how much it committed to pay off student balances, Savannah State revealed they paid the balances of 220 former students with just over $331,000. "From the start of the pandemic, our faculty and staff have been focused on protecting students' health and wellbeing," said Dr. Kimberly Ballard-Washington, president of Savannah State University. "Now we have been able to provide this additional and much-needed support to students whose education was interrupted because of COVID-19." Other Georgia area HCBUs who have cleared coronavirus related debt include Clark Atlanta University, Fort Valley State University, and Spelman College. Sandra M. Phoenix HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Building Capacity for Humanities Special Collections at HBCUs - Become an ally and partner with us to protect, preserve and share a more authentic record of American history. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/humanities-2019.html for more information. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/ and click on the Donate Now button to invest in this project. Your support is appreciated. 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/