Bloomfield College is Recipient of Two U.S. Department of Education PBI Grants Totaling $4.25 Million

Bloomfield College has been awarded 2021 funding totaling $4.25 million through two U.S. Department of Education’s Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI) Program grants to increase the College’s capacity to promote the postsecondary success of African-American students.

Bloomfield College is the only New Jersey institution to receive PBI grants in the present funding period.

“These grants will significantly improve the College’s ability to support the increased needs of the minority student population that is served at Bloomfield College,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Michael A. Palladino, Ph.D. “Our African American male students, specifically, have faced low retention and graduation rates exacerbated by the pandemic which has added personal and financial challenges, and basic needs insecurity, that are barriers to their enrolling in College and to degree completion.”

The first grant, the FY 2021 PBI Competitive Grant, is in the amount of $600,000 per year for five years with a total funding amount of $3 million from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2026. This grant will enable Bloomfield College to develop and deploy the Coaching Habits for African-American Male Students to Promote Success (C.H.A.M.P.S.) Program to increase the enrollment and academic success, retention and graduation of African-American male students at the College and to prepare them for their future professions. Evidence-based activities will include coaching; paid student internships; peer tutoring; online tutoring; leadership workshops and retreats, mental health outreach programs; and access to online professional development activities for staff and faculty to build their capacity to create remote learning experiences that advance student engagement and learning through effective use of technology.

The second grant, the FY 2021 PBI Formula Grant, is in the amount of $250,000 per year for five years with a total funding amount of $1.25 million from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2026. This funding will enable Bloomfield College to develop and implement programs to enhance the institution’s capacity to serve more low- and middle-income African-American students; improve the way that support services and workshops are provided to students to strengthen student persistence and increase graduation rates; and strengthen the College’s financial ability to serve the academic needs of its students through increased enrollment. Project activities will include a campus-wide mentoring program; financial literacy workshops; and additional first-year student support as well as enhancing external communications to promote Bloomfield College courses and programs.

“I want to express my appreciation to Dr. Palladino and his team for successfully applying for these recent PBI grants,” said Marcheta P. Evans, Ph.D., the College’s first Black and female president inaugurated in Fall 2019. “The work we do to serve underserved populations at Bloomfield College will be greatly supported through these federal dollars and we are grateful to the decision-makers who recognized the needs of the College and that of our students.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI) Program makes grant awards to eligible institutions to plan, develop, undertake and implement programs to enhance the institution's capacity to serve more low- and middle-income Black American students; to expand higher education opportunities for eligible students by encouraging college preparation and student persistence in secondary school and postsecondary education; and to strengthen the financial ability of the institution to serve the academic needs of these students.