The Baker Hughes Foundation has announced $800,000 in grants to four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) for the 2021-22 academic year, part of the Foundation’s long-running mission to promote education and opportunity in the communities where Baker Hughes employees live and work. The funds will help provide financial support for a wide variety of scholarships, technological infrastructure, career readiness and curriculum development programs. At Southern University a portion of the grant will aid in recovery from Hurricane Ida.
The Universities participating in the grant program include Prairie View A&M University, North Carolina A&T State University, Southern University A&M College and Texas Southern University. They were selected because of their historic ties to Baker Hughes and their strong academic programs in science, technology, engineering, business and legal fields. This grant aligns with Baker Hughes’ strategy of building the energy workforce of the future and promoting a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace. The Baker Hughes African American Forum (AAF) employee resource group was instrumental in engaging with the partner universities and developing the grant program.
“Innovative minds and diverse perspectives are needed to meet the world’s pressing energy technology challenges, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities are developing future leaders who will help to solve them,” said Regina Jones, chief legal officer and trustee of the Baker Hughes Foundation. “It is important for companies like Baker Hughes to expand our educational partnership with HBCU’s, and we look forward to continuing this in the future.”