Del State has joined Apple’s hub for HBCUs

Delaware State University has joined the Propel Center, a new Apple-funded global campus headquartered in Atlanta that supports learning and development for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the U.S.

The Apple initiative will serve as a hub for HBCUs, connecting students and faculty with curriculum relating to AI and machine learning, agricultural technologies, social justice, entertainment arts, app development, augmented reality, career preparation and entrepreneurship. The hub’s programming will be dispersed via a virtual platform, the physical Atlanta campus and “on-campus activations at partner institutions,” per a news release.

“By bringing exceptional students across the country to learn real-world skills in and outside the classroom, Propel will redefine the future of work for a smaller, more inclusive global community,” said Del State President Tony Allen, who was recently appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Economic and Community Advisory Council, in a statement.

The Propel Center is part of Apple’s $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which was imagined and designed by the nonprofit Ed Farm, with Apple and Southern Company as founding partners.

“These investments are critical as we begin to truly scale Black innovation ecosystems,” said Anthony Oni, Ed Farm chairman. “By leveraging technology and partnerships to connect students with unique learning opportunities, we can lift up the talent that already exists at these institutions of higher learning and accelerate their development. In doing so, we will have a hand in shaping the workforce of the future — and the leaders of tomorrow.”

Apple has had a partnership with Del State since 2018 as part of its Digital Learning Initiative, providing every incoming student with an iPad or MacBook. That program helped the university to pivot to virtual courses when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.