Morehouse College News December 5, 2016 Morehouse College To Receive $1.25 million Grant To Support Career Readiness Initiatives For Students Morehouse College will receive a $1.25 million grant from UNCF (United Negro College Fund) to support an initiative that will provide students with the training, mentoring, and work experience necessary to make them highly competitive for jobs after graduation. Morehouse was one of 24 colleges and universities<http://images.uncf.org/production/PDFs/UNCF_Career_Pathways_Implementation_Grantees.pdf?_ga=1.98098271.1357466411.1478397696> to be named as grant recipients Monday by officials at UNCF. The five-year grants for the institutions represent a $35.3 million investment in students across the country through the UNCF(r) Career Pathways Initiative (CPI<http://www.uncf.org/cpi>), a transformative effort to design and implement programs to improve employment outcomes for graduates. The UNCF Career Pathways Institute (CPI), made possible through a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc<https://www.uncf.org/news/entry/uncf-and-lilly-endowment-inc.-announce-50-million-initiative-to-better-prep>., is a pilot program for select historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly black institutions (PBIs) that are working to enhance the career readiness of their 54,000 enrolled students. Many of these students are from low-to-moderate income families, and will be the first in their families to earn college degrees. They receive federal financial aid to pursue their undergraduate studies, UNCF officials said. Morehouse College was selected as a grant recipient after submitting a proposal that reflects its commitment to strengthening career advising and mentoring, enhancing curricula, and supporting integrated co-curricular engagement. As part of CPI, the selected institutions will develop a range of academic programs, student internships, industry partnerships, specialty certifications, and faculty development as they forge a new model for career readiness, UNCF officials said. "I would like to thank UNCF for their continued support of our efforts to produce top graduates that are able to compete in a global marketplace," said Morehouse President John Silvanus Wilson Jr., '79. "The grant will help us to enhance our systems that support students as they navigate the career exploration process." UNCF launched CPI in December 2015 through a rigorous and competitive multi-phased grant process<https://www.uncf.org/news/entry/uncf-awards-planning-grant-phase-of-50-million-initiative-to-30-selected-co> that targeted 87 eligible public and private HBCUs and PBIs. In the first phase, UNCF made planning grants to 30 institutions. In the final phase, UNCF has chosen 24 colleges and universities for implementation grants. Of those schools, 15 institutions will receive individual awards ranging from $1 million to $1.5 million. Nine of the institutions have been selected for three cluster grants, in which each cluster of three institutions will collaborate intentionally to achieve their shared outcomes. Each cluster will receive up to $6 million. "These colleges and universities show promise in significantly addressing the urgent challenges facing African American college students and graduates," said Dr. Michael L. Lomax '68, UNCF president and CEO. "We heartily congratulate Morehouse College and the 23 other institutions chosen to lead this important work." Morehouse College will use the grant funds to launch an initiative that will target students in their first academic year and support them on their path to graduation, graduate school, and the workforce. The project will begin with the opening of the Office of Career Development and Engagement, a collaborative between Academic Affairs and Student Development that will support and engage students of all majors and career interests. The new office will provide a variety of services needed for a successful job search, including advice from certified career coaches, professional development workshops, entrepreneurship guidance, graduate and professional school test preparation, and online career identification databases, among other services. 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/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/