Last week, the Central State University (OH), a Historically Black College and University and Ohio’s only 1890 Land-Grant institution was awarded a $3 million grant from the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to help with the university’s technology infrastructure. The award is a part of the Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program which is a part of the President Biden Administration’s Internet for All initiative to help connect American with affordable high-speed internet service.
CSU’s program has four main goals:
- Increase CSU’s digital capacity by enhancing physical and human infrastructure.
- Increase students with demonstrated needs access to laptops with embedded network access.
- Increase internet access for targeted individuals and organizations by providing them with hardware and software through Land-Grant extension services.
- Provide hands-on digital operations and broadband distribution equipment for the campus community and off-campus partners and residents with needs or initiatives concerning telehealth, entrepreneurial and distance learning, job creation, economic growth, and training programs.
The community partners who will also benefit from this effort are:
- Agraria Community Solutions: an educational and research center
- Bridges of Hope: a non-profit organization dedicated to serving people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and addictive behaviors.
- Greene County Public Health: a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing health outcomes and health disparities.
- The NAACP: a non-profit organization dedicated to improving academic success in underserved communities.
- Xenia Community Schools: a school that promotes and supports high achievement with technology courses, gifted programming, and dual enrollment courses.
MNA is proud to be the external evaluators on this grant.
