Congresswoman Alma Adams Celebrates $4.95M IGNITE Investment in Tennessee State University

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (D, NC-12), Founder and Co-Chair of the bipartisan HBCU Caucus, celebrated a federal investment of nearly five million dollars into Tennesse State University (TSU), an HBCU (Historically Black College or University), as part of the federal Institutional grants for the New Infrastructure, Technology, and Education for HBCU Excellence (IGNITE) Act she led and passed in the 2023 Omnibus Budget bill.

The investment of $4,946,573 will go into repairing infrastructure backlogs on campus. At TSU, some of the funds are slated to support a new biomedical research center.

"Hard work to pass infrastructure funding for our HBCUs is finally turning legislation on paper into brick and mortar results," said Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (D, NC-12). "This nearly $5M IGNITE grant for Tennessee State University, long overdue, will pay off immediately for their students, and in the long run with a new biomedical research center that saves lives. With a fully supportive White House, I will keep working to secure more funding to close the backlog of needed repairs on HBCU campuses where so many young people of color are building their futures."

"As an R2 Carnegie designated research institution, this funding will considerably assist Tennessee State University in our pursuit to achieve an R1 research designation, the highest research education classification bestowed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education," said Dr. Quincy Quick, Associate Vice President of Research and Sponsored Programs and Chief Research Officer. "This funding will support the establishment of the Center of Biomedical Sciences, and significantly enhance our biomedical sciences and behavioral research capacity."

Rep. Adams has advocated for a fuller version of the IGNITE Act to address the vast backlog of infrastructure repairs and investments HBCUs seek to rebuild their campuses and stay competitive with the many land-grant universities which Black students were forbidden from attending for up to a century or more.

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Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. represents North Carolina's 12th Congressional District (Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Cabarrus County) and serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, where she serves as ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.