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technology, engineering, and math. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Service has become a partner of the 1890 Foundation, “We have a $35 million grant the foundation received over a five-year period. We will be implementing an urban forestry project to really focus on addressing health and environmental disparities through the promotion of urban forestry green infrastructure development as well, and really trying to help foster resilience in the face of climate change,” said Dr. Bronaugh. The impact of 1890 universities extend beyond their campuses says Dr. Bronaugh, “1890s generate $5 billion on average in economic activity each year for their state and create nearly about 41,000 jobs. The lifetime earnings of a single graduating class from an 1890, it comes to about $42 billion in lifetime earnings. About 33,000 degrees each year are earned at 1890 HBCUs.”
On January 1, 2024, Dr. Bronaugh took the helm of the 1890 Universities Foundation. Although her tenure is still in its early stages it has been impactful, and she has set goals to further the foundation’s reach. The foundation has obtained funding for career development from the Natural Resources Conservation Service to create a pipeline to get more professionals in the natural resources space. Cargill has invested funding to help with creating more connections with underserved farmers and agriculture production. In addition to the aforementioned resources the foundation is implementing from the Forestry Service and USDA, Dr. Bronaugh says that she wants to amplify the voices of the 19 members HBCUs through the foundation’s website, “We want to be able to have people come to our website and understand who we are, what we do, and really
hear from our HBCU partners, our 19 institutions about the incredible work they’re doing in the research space, in our extension outreach space. And we want our students to really tell the story about how our investments in them are creating a brighter future for them.” One of her goals is for the foundation to continue to be the liaison between the universities and industry while growing investments, “We are connectors with public and private entities and private industries. And I would like to see us be a critical source of investment with large agencies who are interested in not only investing in the unique research that we do at our institutions but understanding that we can advance food and agriculture overall. I’d also like to see us be a critical career pipeline for STEM for our students. We are the investors of STEM research in our students. We are creating next gen STEM
leaders in food and ag sciences, crop sciences, biotechnology, even veterinary medicine.” In the 134 years since the land was granted for this unique group of HBCUs, their reach has had monumental effect. Dr. Bronaugh and her team at the 1890 Universities Foundation intend to preserve its history while elevating the 1890 institutions and students forward, “There’s a lot of contribution that these institutions make from an economic standpoint, from a social mobility standpoint. And I think it’s really, really powerful to point that out because that’s why we need to continue to invest in these institutions and why they’re so important not only for our students, but just for our overall society.”
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