Dr. Rashunda Richardson awarded more than half-a-million dollar grant to advance research capacity at WSSU

Dr. Rashunda Richardson, associate professor of psychological science at Winston-Salem State University, was awarded $571,146 from the National Science Foundation as part of an HBCU collaborative to advance research capacity at HBCUs.

In addition to Richardson, Dr. Tangela Towns, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, will serve as the co-principal investigator for WSSU.

The project is entitled, “Collaborative Research: Ideas Lab: The HBCU Ujima Collective: Building Research Capacity at HBCUs through a Grow Your Own Research Corps Model,” includes Miles College as the lead institution, Howard University, Morgan State University, and Tennessee State University. The goal is to capitalize on the research strengths of each of the five partnering institutions to produce an adaptable model for training and building a corps of research administrators and scientists to enhance research capacity across HBCUs nationwide.

The objective of the project is to design, pilot, assess, and share a "Grow Your Own" model to train HBCU personnel in the business and science of research through a systematic assessment of research capacity needs and assets.

By training HBCU personnel, UJIMA Collective will directly impact the advancement of research capacity through a trained network with research knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics needed to enhance the research enterprise.

This project will advance the research enterprise by impacting the research culture at HBCUs; introducing HBCU students to careers in research administration; and increasing African American students' interest in pursuing advanced degrees, which can lead to broadening participation in the STEM workforce. This project is co-funded by the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), which provides awards to strengthen STEM undergraduate education and research at HBCUs.