Dominion Energy today announced that 11 historically black colleges and universities in Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina will receive support through a $35 million initiative aimed at promoting higher education equity.
The six-year “HBCU Promise” program will provide $25 million in funding to select institutions. Additionally, a $10 million scholarship fund will support African American and underrepresented minority students across the company’s service territory.
“We have all been witness to our country’s evolving conversation on race and social justice,” said Thomas F. Farrell, II, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “The country is changing, and we have been looking for ways that we can make a difference. Investing in these important institutions – which serve as a springboard for social and economic mobility for so many – is one way we can help. We have actually partnered with HBCUs for nearly 40 years, offering volunteer and financial support. As I have said before, we are humbled and honored to continue supporting them with this current initiative.”
In selecting the institutions, the company looked at a range of factors, including locations with a significant customer presence, past partnerships and opportunities to make immediate impact. In structuring the partnerships, the company will focus on four general areas: operating needs, urgent capital needs, endowment and scholarships. Some details remain to be worked out. But Dominion Energy plans to tailor packages to the needs of each institution. The schools are:
Virginia
Hampton University, Hampton
Norfolk State University, Norfolk
Virginia Union University, Richmond
Virginia State University, Petersburg
South Carolina
Allen University, Columbia
Benedict College, Columbia
Claflin University, Orangeburg
South Carolina State University, Orangeburg
Ohio
Central State University, Wilberforce, OH
Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, OH
North Carolina
North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro
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