General Authorization
From amounts available under section 1068h(a)(2) of this title for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall make grants (under section 1063 of this title) to institutions which have applications approved by the Secretary (under section 1063a of this title) for any of the following uses:
Duration
Grants shall be made for a period not to exceed 5 years. Any funds awarded for such five-year grant period that are obligated during such five-year period may be expended during the 10-year period beginning on the first day of such five-year period.
Use of Funds
- Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes, including instructional and research purposes.
- Construction, maintenance, renovation, and improvement in classroom, library, laboratory, and other instructional facilities, including purchase or rental of telecommunications technology equipment or services.
- Support of faculty exchanges, and faculty development and faculty fellowships to assist in attaining advanced degrees in their field of instruction.
- Academic instruction in disciplines in which Black Americans are underrepresented.
- Purchase of library books, periodicals, microfilm, and other educational materials, including telecommunications program materials.
- Tutoring, counseling, and student service programs designed to improve academic success.
- Funds and administrative management, and acquisition of equipment for use in strengthening funds management.
- Joint use of facilities, such as laboratories and libraries.
- Establishing or improving a development office to strengthen or improve contributions from alumni and the private sector.
- Establishing or enhancing a program of teacher education designed to qualify students to teach in a public elementary or secondary school in the State that shall include, as part of such program, preparation for teacher certification.
- Establishing community outreach programs which will encourage elementary and secondary students to develop the academic skills and the interest to pursue postsecondary education.
- Acquisition of real property in connection with the construction, renovation, or addition to or improvement of campus facilities.
- Education or financial information designed to improve the financial literacy and economic literacy of students or the students’ families, especially with regard to student indebtedness and student assistance programs under subchapter IV of this chapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42.
- Services necessary for the implementation of projects or activities that are described in the grant application and that are approved, in advance, by the Secretary, except that not more than two percent of the grant amount may be used for this purpose.
- Other activities proposed in the application submitted pursuant to section 1063a of this title that
- contribute to carrying out the purposes of this part; and
- are approved by the Secretary as part of the review and acceptance of such application.
Endowment Fund
- In general An institution may use not more than 20 percent of the grant funds provided under this part to establish or increase an endowment fund at the institution.
- Matching requirement In order to be eligible to use grant funds in accordance with paragraph (1), the eligible institution shall provide matching funds from non-Federal sources, in an amount equal to or greater than the Federal funds used in accordance with paragraph (1), for the establishment or increase of the endowment fund.
- Comparability The provisions of part C of this subchapter regarding the establishment or increase of an endowment fund, that the Secretary determines are not inconsistent with this subsection, shall apply to funds used under paragraph (1).
Limitations
- No grant may be made under this chapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42 for any educational program, activity, or service related to sectarian instruction or religious worship, or provided by a school or department of divinity. For the purpose of this subsection, the term “school or department of divinity” means an institution whose program is specifically for the education of students to prepare them to become ministers of religion or to enter upon some other religious vocation, or to prepare them to teach theological subjects.
- Not more than 50 percent of the allotment of any institution may be available for the purpose of constructing or maintaining a classroom, library, laboratory, or other instructional facility.
Grant Year 25/26 Projects
HBCU Instructional Renovations: Aims to enhance academic excellence and student success at Clark Atlanta University through targeted facility upgrades, laboratory modernization, and the expansion of student-centered support services. The initiative will increase capacity, improve experiential learning opportunities, and support retention, interdisciplinary collaboration, and workforce readiness.
Project Director – Ms. Bonita Dukes
Project Assistant – Mr. Corey Pressley
Staff Training and Development: Aims to provide staff management and development training to improve employee engagement and satisfaction. Also, provide customer service training for all staff employees to inculcate customer service philosophy to improve the experience of students, parents, internal partners and other third parties that interact with the University.
Project Director – Mrs. Tyranny Smith-Yancey
Project Assistant – Ms. Lindsay Bryan
Strategic Alignment and End User Experience Enhancements: Aims to improve student access to software applications, as well as campus-wide Wi-Fi and will optimize business processes for increased operational efficiency. The project will also enhance the end-user experience through upgrading access to campus laboratories, and implementation of innovative academic facilities.
Project Director – Mr. Brian Benn
Project Assistant – Ms. Sherrie Person
Student Success: Aims to provide tutoring, targeted advisement, and summer bridge programming to assess, identify and provide recommendations to restructure the existing student support service delivery system in order to expand and strengthen the University’s academic support services
Project Director – Dr. Dakira Watkins
Enhancing STEM Capacity through Faculty Start-Up Packages: Aims to strengthen Clark Atlanta University’s capacity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), we propose to establish a competitive start-up support program for new STEM faculty hires. This initiative will provide funding for two years of salary support and laboratory start-up packages
Project Director – Dr. Frances Williams
Project Assistant – Mrs. Annette McTavish-Ingram
Supplemental Grant Year 25/26 Projects
HBCU Renovations: Gaines Hall, McPheeters-Dennis Hall: This project aims to preserve and rehabilitate the historic Gaines Hall by transforming it into a centralized, state-of-the-art home for the Music Department, enhancing instructional quality, collaboration, and performance opportunities while honoring a significant cultural landmark. In addition, renovations to McPheeters-Dennis Hall will modernize laboratories, classrooms, and shared learning spaces through critical infrastructure upgrades, improving accessibility, supporting innovative teaching, and enriching the overall student experience.
Project Director – Ms. Bonita Dukes
Project Assistant – Mr. Corey Pressley
Registrar Re-engineering Initiative: Aims to secure professional consulting services to support the implementation of priority recommendations identified during the Registrar’s Office review conducted in Summer 2025, with a focus on strengthening operational efficiency, compliance, and student services.
Project Director – Dr. Calvin Brown
Academic Programming Optimization: Aims to obtain an external consulting firm to evaluate and optimize the university’s academic program portfolio to ensure alignment with strategic goals, market demand, student success outcomes, and resource efficiency.
Project Director – Dr. Calvin Brown
Student Success Services: Aims to strengthen Clark Atlanta University’s student success ecosystem through data-driven advising, accurate academic placement, structured mentoring, and enhanced assessment of student engagement. These initiatives are designed to improve retention, persistence, and degree completion. Particularly for first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students, by creating a coordinated, scalable, and proactive student support model.
Project Director – Dr. Dakira Watkins
Mass Media Refresh Initiative: Seeks to transform and revitalize the Division of Communication Arts and enhance its cinematic and AI- augmented learning environments. The project includes developing AI-integrated writing labs, upgrading production technologies, and improving core infrastructure to align academic programs with current industry standards in converged, AI-driven media production.
Project Director – Dr. Charlene Gilbert
Project Assistant – Dr. Calvin Brown
OITC/Property Protection Initiatives: Aims to modernize and strengthen the University’s technology and safety environment by implementing infrastructure enhancements that improve communication, support secure operations, and create a more connected and efficient campus experience.
Project Director – Mr. Brian Benn
Project Assistant – Ms. Sherrie Person
Infusing AI into the Curriculum: The purpose of this project is to advance academic innovation at Clark Atlanta University by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) education into the First Year Seminar (FYS) curriculum, expanding faculty capacity to apply AI in teaching, learning, and research, as well as developing a university-wide CAU-branded AI toolkit.
Project Director – Dr. Charmayne Patterson
