Feb. 28, 2024 –Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the winners of the first phase of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Clean Energy Education Prize Partnerships Track. The Partnerships Track is one of two tracks in the HBCU Clean Energy Education Prize, which is awarding nearly $8 million to winning HBCUs to help prepare the next generation of clean energy leaders.
Not only are the winners being announced during Black History Month, but the HBCU Clean Energy Education Prize also comes at a critical time for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field. As of 2021, nearly one in four people in the U.S. workforce (24%) were employed in STEM roles. According to the National Science Foundation, only 9% of STEM workers are Black.