College Receives Grant to Expand Higher Ed Opportunities

December 16, 2022

The New Commonwealth Social Justice and Equity Fund granted Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology $150,000 to help support programming that will expose high school students to career opportunities in the life sciences and to encourage enrollment in our new Biotechnology degree program. The funding will also bolster development of an industrial design pathway at the college in collaboration with Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, the nation’s first historically Black college or university ever to be reopened.

“We are grateful to The New Commonwealth Fund for this funding that will create a pathway to opportunity for our students in the life science industry, which begins with awareness of and encouragement towards STEM-based careers in high school and continues through to our well-prepared alumni securing good jobs and enjoying fulfilling careers in the rapidly changing workforce,” said Dr. Aisha Francis, president and CEO of Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology.

The college’s grant was part of a larger $775,000 funding allocation from the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund (NCF)—a funding and support resource for Black, Latino and Indigenous entrepreneurs, innovators, and nonprofits. The fund chose three new partners working to dismantle systemic racism. In addition to Benjamin Franklin Cummings, the other new partners are Health Equity Compact; and a joint investment with United Way in the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research.

These grants will help advance the work of each organization in identifying harmful policies that need reform, increasing socio-economic wellbeing, and developing pipelines to long-term wealth-building opportunities for Black and Brown communities across the Commonwealth.

“This investment in Massachusetts’ legislative experts, researchers, and educators will allow us to reshape practices impacting every aspect of Black and Brown lives across our state,” said Dr. Makeeba McCreary, president of the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund. “Not only do we look forward to future collaborations with these amazing organizations, but we are proud to connect industry experts with the resources they need to create systemic change. Ultimately, our goal for these—and all of our—investments is to serve as a funding model that shifts the trajectory of equity toward Black and Brown communities across the nation.”