Blue Meridian Partners Invest $124 Million into Expansion of the HBCU Transformation Project
Launched in 2022, The HBCU Transformation Project is a partnership between the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Partnership for Education Advancement, United Negro College Fund and Blue Meridian Partners with the expressed goal of improving higher education outcomes for Black students by reversing historic funding inequities and “bringing resources to the table."
The HBCU Transformation Project also seeks to strengthen its 40 HBCU partners' financial positions and disrupt intergenerational poverty.
With the primary aim of funding "scalable solutions to the problems that limit economic and social mobility for America's young people and families in poverty", Blue Meridian Partners recently announced an additional $124 million investment into the HBCU Transformation Project.
The investment aims to build upon the positive results that emerged from the initial stages of the project.
According to the press release, the majority of this investment will be dedicated to "building technology infrastructure, developing and testing transformative curricular and administrative strategies, and piloting platforms to work together on staff development, shared procurement, and related approaches."
The HBCU Transformation Project's first goal is to dramatically increase enrollment and retention at its HBCU partner institutions. Through the project’s early stages, historic application and enrollment growth was identified at Claflin University, Norfolk State University, South Carolina State University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
The second goal of the initiative is to improve HBCU institutional performance, capacity and innovation. Several institutions, including South Carolina State, cited progress through the use of technologies built to save staff time so that they can focus on “higher-value student-facing” work.
These tools include a customized CRM (customer relationship management) platform, InsideTrack coaching and AI chatbots. For example, with the help of the program, Morehouse created an innovative approach to retention that identifies students at risk of leaving the institution and supports them with direct coaching and tutoring.
Additional funding has come from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, JP Morgan Chase and Capital One.
UNCF President and CEO, Dr. Michael L. Lomax, has shared that they are excited about the positive changes current students will bring to their communities in a statement expressed "that our institutions must evolve to give future generations the educational experiences they need."
Through the Transformation Project's networked approach, HBCUs will see a decrease in funding gaps between them and other educational institutions and will be able to contribute to the long-term goal of increasing HBCUs graduates and Black wealth.