U.S. Department of Energy signs landmark agreement with Coalition of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Special to the Outlook
As part of an initiative to promote community transformation and economic development for communities across the country, a landmark agreement promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency was recently signed between a consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The agreement launches the partnership known as the HBCU Clean Energy Coalition to promote clean energy like solar and energy efficiency and to help advance HBCU-led initiatives in the innovation economy. Led by former DOE Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz, a signing ceremony memorializing this milestone agreement was held on Jan. 17, at the Department of Energy’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.
As the nation transitions to a clean energy economy, HBCUs play a significant role in leading the transformation in the communities where they are located. Many HBCUs have already begun to implement initiatives that promote sustainability and a cleaner environment on their campuses. HBCUs also play an influential role in activating the communities around them to drive greater awareness for energy efficiency and renewable energies. Ultimately, the HBCU Clean Energy Coalition provides a bigger platform for the DOE to engage HBCUs as key stakeholders in nationwide renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives.
“As founder and chair of the Bipartisan Congressional HBCU Caucus, I look forward to this collaboration between the Department of Energy and the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition to engage HBCUs in solar and renewable energy,” shares U.S. Congresswoman Alma Adams of the 12th District of North Carolina. “The Clean Energy Hubs created through this agreement will allow communities with HBCUs to convene stakeholders, encourage the adoption of solar and renewable energy, invest in skills training, create jobs, provide innovative utility cost savings, and promote energy education. I am proud that Johnson C. Smith University will participate in this collaboration, bringing these important resources to the Charlotte area.”
“Florida Memorial University is honored to be a partner in the HBCU Clean Energy Coalition. Through this innovative effort, Florida Memorial will have the opportunity to educate, empower, and enable the surrounding community through training and development designed to diversify all aspects of the sustainable energy sector in our country,” shares Dr. Roslyn Artis, President of Florida Memorial University. “These are precisely the kinds of future-focused collaborations that HBCUs like Florida Memorial can engage in that will yield an immediate and tangible impact in underserved communities.”
To support the initiatives envisioned by this partnership, the Consortium of HBCUs requested funding from the DOE for initiatives led in three key regions of the country – the Southeast, Southwest, and Northeast. As a model for community engagement around these initiatives, the Consortium will adopt best practices of the Morgan Community Mile Solar Initiative, which was created to more deeply engage the entire community around energy initiatives and utility costs savings, and will be implemented in collaboration with Morgan State University, the City of Baltimore, and DOE.
Henry A. Golatt, HBCU-CDAC Vice Chairman shared his remarks via the following statement. “It is both exciting as well as rewarding to be a part of this national effort aimed at helping to bring this HBCU-US DOE initiative to fruition. With the participating HBCUs strategically positioned in the leadership of this effort, we look to assist these institutions in their efforts to impact under represented individuals and communities by exposing them to expanding opportunities in the clean energy sector.”
Participating colleges and universities include:
Benedict College, South Carolina
Claflin University, South Carolin
Coppin State University, Maryland
Florida Memorial University, Florida
Johnson C. Smith University, North Carolina
Morgan State University, Maryland
Norfolk State University, Virginia
North Carolina A and T University, North Carolina
Prairie View A and M University, Texas
Southern University, Louisiana
Tennessee State University, Tennessee
Texas Southern University, Texas
University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Maryland
University of the Virgin Island, USVI
About the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition:
The HBCU Community Development Action Coalition promotes, supports, and advocates for historically black colleges and minority serving institutions (MSIs), community development corporations (CDCs), and the community economic development industry whose work creates wealth, builds healthy and sustainable communities, and achieves lasting economic viability. HBCU CDAC fulfills its mission of service to its members working in disinvested urban and rural communities through education, resource development, advocacy, networking, and training.
