News Releases

(ATLANTA) Princeton University is partnering with the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and four other historically Black colleges and universities to launch a groundbreaking program designed to enable research collaborations between Princeton faculty and their peers at HBCUs.

In the initial phase, Princeton researchers and researchers from Howard University, Jackson State University, Prairie View A&M University, Spelman College and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore will co-lead research projects. These projects will be funded by Princeton University through its new Princeton Alliance for Collaborative Research and Innovation (PACRI).

"We are excited about Spelman College’s selection as one of the five HBCUs for the Princeton Alliance for Collaborative Research and Innovation, which will expand more opportunities to forge meaningful and sustainable research partnerships in Humanities, Social Science and Education,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman College. “Our stellar faculty, who play a big role in Spelman’s national rankings, are committed to their respective research agendas and engaging undergraduate students in scholarly projects. Our Office of Research, Innovation, and Collaboration looks forward to facilitating collaborative research efforts that align with Princeton's Department of African American Studies, Center for Digital Humanities, Center for Health and Wellbeing, and the Princeton Institute for Regional and International Studies."

According to Heidi M. Anderson, Ph.D., President, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, “The majority of our graduates are in STEM fields, and as a Carnegie Designated High Research University, we do significant research; however, our students also benefit from the critical thinking skills gained in the humanities. Working with their peers at Princeton will be a great benefit to all faculty.”

“We look forward to the light that will shine on our campus as a result of participating in PACRI and showcasing the exciting work our faculty and students are doing,” she said. 
PACRI is one of several initiatives by Princeton’s Office of the Dean for Research aimed at expanding a more inclusive research, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem at Princeton and beyond. While this first phase of the Alliance focuses on HBCUs, Princeton anticipates expanding the effort to forge research collaborations with other Minority-Serving Institutions and women’s colleges. 

About Spelman College
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, the College’s picturesque campus is home to 2,100 students. Spelman is the country's leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The College’s status is confirmed by the U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Spelman No. 51 among all liberal arts colleges, No. 19 for undergraduate teaching, No. 5 for social mobility among liberal arts colleges, and No. 1 for the 16th year among historically Black colleges and universities. The Wall Street Journal has ranked the College No. 3, nationally, in terms of student satisfaction. Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU, and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.D.s in economics. New majors have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, and collaborations have been established with MIT’s Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, actress and producer Latanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones.

To learn more, please visit spelman.edu and @spelmancollege on social media.