The PSEG Foundation — the philanthropic arm of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. which prioritizes investments in environment, safety, STEM education & workforce development and diversity & inclusion — has announced plans to provide $1 million in grant funding for three esteemed HBCUs to support STEM education.

Recipients of this grant funding are Hampton University, Howard University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

According to a press release, PSEG Foundation aims for these grants to diversify the STEM workforce through each university’s respective programs. As a result, the funding will help generate a talent pipeline of underrepresented students to prepare the next generation of Black STEM leaders to create change in fields like environmental science, sustainability and social justice.

“HBCUs have a long history of offering an exceptional educational experience while enriching the lives of Black students and families and providing the resources that empower students to succeed in various STEM careers,” Calvin Ledford Jr. — president of the PSEG Foundation — shared in a statement. “At PSEG, we have dozens of employees and their families that have attended HBCUs, including many alumni of Hampton University and Howard University. This support is exemplary of our vision to build equitable and prosperous communities, amplifying the direction we have been heading by providing support to organizations including the United Negro College Fund and Thurgood Marshall College Fund, just to name a few.”

Each university will use their grant funding for the following:

    • Hampton University: To power the PSEG STEM Scholars Program — designed to support promising high school seniors and undergraduate freshmen from underserved and minority populations in New Jersey who are studying STEM fields. Through the PSEG STEM Scholars Program, students are eligible to receive one of five two-year scholarships for New Jersey students, covering tuition, room and board.
    • Howard University: To offer scholarships to undergraduate Environmental Studies majors, specifically those from communities previously underrepresented in environmental science and clean energy research, yet overrepresented in areas that battle the highest levels of environmental pollution. The PSEG Scholars Program will provide scholarships for as many as six Howard University undergraduates who demonstrate financial need.
    • North Carolina A&T: To power the PSEG Scholarship Program, which will educate a diverse and competitive talent pool, with high priority given to residents of New Jersey enrolled in the College of Engineering, College of Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences or the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics.

The PSEG Foundation has a longstanding history of empowering diverse and inclusive communities by supporting organizations such as the UNCF and Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which both focus on addressing inequities.

Through this $1 million funding, the PSEG Foundation demonstrates an example of how HBCUs need to be supported in all aspects that benefit their students’ futures.

For more information about the PSEG Foundation’s new funding commitment, click here.