After months of planning, Morgan State University this week made a joint announcement with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) detailing the award of a five-year $2-million grant from the UNCF to create the UNCF® Career Pathways Initiative (CPI). The initiative is designed to assist and guide university graduates as they make their way into the real world and begin to look for jobs to jumpstart their careers. Morgan State is one of the 24 colleges and universities in the country currently awarded grants that reach a grand total of $35.3 million. As a recipient of this award, Morgan State will now work alongside Norfolk State University and Tennessee State University in improving job outcomes for all their graduates.
The entire program is possible thanks to a grant from the Lily Endowment Inc. The UNCF® Career Pathways Initiative is a unique pilot program for select historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly Black institutions (PBIs) to assist them in enhancing the career readiness of their 54,000 enrolled students. Many of these students will be the first in their families to earn college degrees. The majority of students are from low-to-moderate–income families and must receive federal financial aid to pursue their undergraduate studies.
Morgan State’s goal for the initiative is for students to readily attain academic success, obtaining degrees on time and be prepared to fulfill the needs of future career opportunities. Morgan State University President David Wilson echoed that objective, in stating “We are very pleased to have Morgan included as one of the select universities to participate in the implementation of the UNCF® Career Pathways Initiative; further expanding our value proposition as an institution dedicated, not only to graduating our students with a high-quality education, but also assisting their transition into sustainable careers afterwards.”
In believing an initiative like this is something which is greatly needed, Wilson went on to say: “The resources made available as a result of this grant will provide much-needed support in our ongoing efforts to prepare students to meet the growing needs of employers, particularly in high-demand career areas, while increasing their likelihood of future success beyond degree attainment.”