Delaware State University announced a partnership with Propel Center, a new global campus headquartered in Atlanta that will support learning and development for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) nationwide.
Del State will collaborate with Propel Center and the entire HBCU community to bring leadership and career development programming to its students.
The project is part of Apple’s $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which is the corporation’s commitment to help dismantle barriers to opportunity and combat injustices faced by communities of color.
Propel Center was imagined and designed by Ed Farm, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing education through technology — with Apple and Southern Company supporting the project as founding partners. The Propel Center is designed to connect HBCU students to technology curricula , cultural thought leaders, entrepreneurship skills development, and accelerator programs.
The first-of-its-kind initiative will serve as a hub for all 100+ HBCUs, and is designed to connect students and faculty from across the community and provide them with the knowledge, skills, tools and resources necessary to transform the nation’s talent pipeline and workforce.
Curriculum options will include AI and machine learning, agricultural technologies, social justice, entertainment arts, app development, augmented reality, design and creativity, career preparation, and entrepreneurship tracks.
Del State President Dr. Tony Allen notes that HBCUs contribute more than $18 billion to the gross domestic product each year. He further pointed out that while representing only three percent of all colleges and universities in the country, HBCUs still graduate nearly 25% of all Black professionals.
“Propel is a classic example. By bringing exceptional students across the country to learn real-world skills in and outside the classroom, Propel will redefine the future of work for a smaller, more inclusive global community,” Dr. Allen said. “Delaware State University is excited to be part of this initiative.”
Del State students will access Propel Center’s online digital learning platform from anywhere, and will also have access to the 50,000-square-foot Propel Center headquarters in Atlanta, equipped with ecture halls, learning labs, and on-site living for a scholars-in-residence program.
Tim Cook, Apple CEO, said the Propel Center is one of several new initiatives that address the need to empower communities that have borne the brunt of racism and discrimination too long.
“We are all accountable to the urgent work of building a more just, more equitable world – and these new projects send a clear signal of Apple’s enduring commitment,” the Apple CEO said. “We are honored to help bring this vision to bear, and to match our words and actions to the values of equity and inclusion we have always prized at Apple.”
The university has had an ongoing partnership with Apple since June 2018 to provide every incoming student with an iPad or MacBook as part of the university’s launch of its Digital Learning Initiative. That initiative – which set a goal of converting all curriculum to a digital format by 2020 – is credited with positioning Del State last spring to quickly switch to the online delivery of all of its courses upon the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Recently Delaware State University was nominated for consideration in the selection of the 2021 “Apple Distinguished School,” which will be announced in June. No HBCU has ever won that Apple award.
Additional information on Propel Center can be found at PropelCenter.org.
