WASHINGTON, DC (January 25, 2023) – The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) congratulates TMCF member-school Howard University for being selected to lead a consortia of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to establish the first University-Affliated
Research Center (UARC) funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) at an HBCU.
The UARC at Howard University will focus its research on tactical autonomy and will be established through a five-year, $90 million contract agreement with the DoD. The newly- established center will conduct research that will contribute to the development of efficient,
affordable, trustworthy human-machine teaming and systems-of-systems with autonomy and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that fall within the U.S. Air Force, Space Force, and DOD’s modernization priorities.
The Howard University UARC Consortium Schools include TMCF member-schools Jackson State University, Tuskegee University, Bowie State University, Norfolk State University and Delaware State University; along with Hampton University, Florida Memorial University and
Tougaloo College. “The establishment of the Howard University UARC is truly a game-changer for HBCUs,” said Dr. Harry L. Williams, President and CEO of TMCF. “The creation of this historic center demonstrates the Department of Defense and the Biden Administration’s recognition of the brilliant minds that are employed and cultivated at HBCUs, and the critical role that they have to play in our nation’s national security and global competitiveness. I congratulate Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick and his entire team along with the leadership teams and researchers at all of the schools included in the Howard University Research Consortium. This is truly an historic moment for all of our institutions”.
At the beginning of 2019, in partnership with the Emerging Technology Consortium, TMCF established the HBCU NDAA Advisory Committee which was purposed with making recommendations to Congress on how to better engage HBCUs in DoD’s research and development enterprise. The continuous engagement on this issue of particular importance to both DoD and HBCUs led to an increased focus on the equitable distribution of federal research funding, and resulted in the inclusion of the HOMECOMING Research Act in the 2020 National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which TMCF helped draft and introduce in Congress. The HOMECOMING Act mandated the creation of the National Academies of Sciences study on the Department of Defense’s potential role in creating a Research I HBCU. The report that was
produced from the National Academies study recommended markedly increasing investment into the research capacity at HBCUs, which ultimately led to the creation of the first UARC on an HBCU campus that we are proud to celebrate today.
ABOUT THE THURGOOD MARSHALL COLLEGE FUND
Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is the nation’s largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF member-schools include the publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly
Black Institutions, enrolling nearly 80% of all students attending black colleges and universities. Through scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives, innovative programs, and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the K-12 and higher education space. The
organization is also the source of top employers seeking top talent for competitive internships and good jobs.
TMCF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization. For more information about TMCF, visit: www.tmcf.org=
