Professor Launches First AI Institute at Historic HBCU

When Siobahn Day Grady saw universities scrambling to teach AI skills, she noticed who was getting left out of the race.

Historically Black colleges and universities make up 3 percent of four-year schools in America, but receive less than 1 percent of federal research funding. In 2023, seventeen federal agencies that funded university research gave exactly zero dollars to HBCUs.

This January, Grady changed the game. The North Carolina Central University professor launched the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Research, the first AI research institute at any HBCU in the country.

Her vision goes beyond training computer science majors. At NCCU, which doesn't yet have a dedicated computer science program, Grady designed AI education for everyone.

"There used to be a time where people could say, 'I don't do tech,'" Grady explains. "But we're in a stage now where you do need digital skills."

The results came fast. Armed with a $1 million Google grant, the institute has already engaged more than 2,800 students, faculty, and community members through research projects and training programs.

Every freshman at NCCU now takes an introductory AI course designed with IBM, learning essential skills for the modern workplace. Faculty members across departments received seed grants up to $10,000 to explore how AI could transform their fields.

The projects span far beyond tech labs. Social work students practice client interactions through AI simulations. Health care researchers apply machine learning to patient care. Librarians explore digital archiving with new tools.

The Ripple Effect

Grady's approach tackles a problem bigger than one campus. AI skills have become essential across nearly every industry, but access to quality AI education remains deeply unequal across American universities.

By proving that an HBCU can build a thriving AI institute in under two years, Grady created a blueprint. Her team operates "like a startup," moving fast to secure partnerships, launch programs, and create opportunities before students get left behind in the AI revolution.

The institute doesn't just teach students to use AI tools. It funds their research, connects them with industry partners, and positions them as innovators rather than consumers of technology.

"We have a guiding principle that we lead with on our campus," Grady says. "AI is for everyone."

That principle now reaches thousands of students who might otherwise have missed their chance to shape the future of technology.