MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Just last month, WCNC Charlotte reported on the $1.5 billion awarded to North Carolina to expand and deploy affordable and reliable high-speed internet. That funding could have a large impact on HBCUs across the country, experts say, if it's deployed equitably for institutions like Charlotte's Johnson C. Smith University.
For decades, HBCUs around the nation have fallen behind on infrastructure as other colleges and universities built up what was funded. Many of the institutions reside in digital deserts and rely heavily on enrollment numbers.
Despite the digital divide growing on HBCU campuses, JCSU was awarded the largest government grant in its history to begin to change that narrative.
John A. Oliver, Ph.D., the project manager for Charlotte's Inclusive Technology Innovation Pilot Program, told WCNC Charlotte they're in phase one, expanding fiber networks that will eventually connect to the larger community to access.
"We know that HBCUs have been historically underfunded and not funded from the federal point of view, and it has put them behind other colleges and universities that have been receiving federal and state funding for decades," Oliver told WCNC Charlotte.
Oliver said the digital divide isn't just about providing access to affordable and reliable internet, it's also about making sure students and the community have the devices they need for the right applications.
"JCSU wants to be the leading proponent for technology, whether that be artificial intelligence or virtual reality," Oliver explained. "We want to be able to access all of the opportunities and be ready for that with our technology for our students and the broader community around us."
The U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded the grant to JCSU.
Contact Colin Mayfield at cmayfield@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.