The nation’s largest organization representing the Black College community has commended the introduction of the Institutional Grants for New Infrastructure, Technology, and Education for (IGNITE) HBCU Excellence Act.

Co-sponsored by the co-chairs of the HBCU Caucus—Representative Alma Adams (D-NC), Representative French Hill (R-AR), Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC)—the Institutional Grants for New Infrastructure, Technology, and Education for  HBCU Excellence Act seeks to address the historic underfunding of facilities and other infrastructure at HBCUs.

“The IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act has the potential to be literally transformative legislation for HBCUs,” said Thurgood Marshall College Fund President and CEO Dr. Harry L. Williams in a statement.

“Passing the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, Congress will be making an affirmative statement that HBCUs and their students deserve the same state-of-the-art facilities that HBCU students have long been deprived of due to decades of underfunding,” he added. “This legislation is a smart investment to maintain our nation’s global competitiveness and we urge Congress to pass The IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act this year.”

Thurgood Marshall College Fund (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.

The bill provides needed funding for HBCUs to renovate, repair, modernize or construct new campus facilities, including for instructional, research, and residential purposes, provide access to campus-wide, reliable high-speed broadband to support digital learning and long-term technological capacity, and procure equipment and technology to facilitate high-quality research and instruction.

See related story “The Thurgood Marshall College Fund Does More Than Scholarships“