TSU part of consortium created with $1.2 million UNCF grant

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) — Tennessee State University is among three historically black institutions that have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a consortium that will focus on faculty development.

The consortium on Transformative Teaching Practices for 21st Century Career Pathways is made up of TSU, Morgan State University and Norfolk State University. It is possible through a $1.2 million grant from the United Negro College Fund.

Known as the C3 Cluster, the three state institutions serve approximately 20,000 students and are uniquely positioned to collaborate on work that will have a direct impact on over 1,000 faculty members among the three campuses.

“One goal of the C3 Cluster initiative is to serve as a model for collaboration among universities committed to student success,” says Dr. Glenda Glover, president of TSU. “Historically, Tennessee State University faculty and staff have always assisted students in developing career pathways to success. The collaboration with Morgan State and Norfolk State is the perfect synergy, given the missions of the partners and the tradition of excellence that we all value. We are happy to serve as an equitable partner in the C3 Cluster initiative and sincerely appreciate our UNCF funder in granting the funds to continue our efforts to help students succeed through innovative pedagogy.”

The UNCF Career Pathways Initiative, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. through a $50 million grant, will enable selected historically black colleges and universities and predominately white institutions to address social and economic issues of minority graduation, unemployment and underemployment. Over the next four years, the consortium will engage in structured activities that foster community, identifies and validates new innovations, amplifies and scales best practices, and disseminates learnings.

The C3 institutions have similar academic profiles of their students, are geographically located in urban areas, and have strong alumni bases. It is projected that the outcome of the consortium will be a model for other schools of how to grow and learn in public.

While primarily focused on faculty, the C3 Cluster will extend their collaborative efforts to include additional members of their university communities. Key to its work will be creating opportunities for alumni and employer partners to provide valuable input on preparing undergraduate students for post-graduate success.

“With African Americans disproportionately unemployed or underemployed, it is imperative that colleges and universities unite in support of better employment outcomes for all graduates, not just the privileged,” says Dr. Brian Bridges, UNCF vice president for research and member engagement. “This grant will further help faculty provide the preparation necessary to help African American college students and graduates acquire the skills and mindset necessary for 21st century work.”

This collaborative effort will be highlighted during the 3rd Annual CPI Convening and Data Institute, themed “Purposeful Disruption.” The convening will be held July 23-25 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. During this year’s convening CPI Partner institutions will have an opportunity to share promising practices and ideas on how they have been able to purposefully leverage disruptions within the higher education space to improve student outcomes.

For more information, please contact the C3 Cluster at c3cluster@gmail.com.

Department of Media Relations

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About Tennessee State University

With more than 8,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 bachelor’s degree programs, 25 master’s degree programs and seven doctoral degrees. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.