$32M To Atlanta University Center Schools From Biden Rescue Plan

ATLANTA — The schools of the Atlanta University Center received nearly $32 million from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, and Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff was there Friday to announce the respective funding.

The money comes as part of a $3 billion allocation from Biden’s rescue plan for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and for institutions that serve predominantly minority populations.

The funds can be used to offer emergency grants and financial aid to students struggling with monetary hardships stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things.

“I look forward to working with ... all of the assembled leaders here today, to sustain that support, because HBCUs are gems in our nation's System of Higher Education,” Ossoff said at a ceremony at Clark Atlanta University. “HBCUs provide a vital service, not just to the Black community here in Georgia and across the country, but to the entire nation and to the entire world. And please count on me as a friend and an ally and a staunch advocate for Georgia's HBCUs and HBCUs nationwide.”

Ossoff's office tweeted the amounts each school will receive. The AUC comprises Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College and the Morehouse School of Medicine. Clark received $16.4 million. Morehouse and Spelman, with smaller student bodies, received $7.8 million and $7.4 million, respectively. And Morehouse School of Medicine, with the smallest student population, received $358,000.

Ossoff said the funds will “help you reinvest and recover, during and after this pandemic.”

Clark Atlanta University President George T. French thanked Ossoff for his part in delivering the funding.

“We are so grateful for the critical work done by President Biden, Sen. Ossoff, Sen. Warnock and Georgia’s Congressional representatives to help lift up HBCUs as we emerge from a once-in-a-lifetime health event,” French said in a statement. “These funds will go a long way toward elevating our university’s mission of preparing the next generation of future leaders.”