Charlotte, N.C. / December 14, 2020- Dr. Felesia Stukes, Johnson C. Smith University Assistant Professor of Computer Science, and faculty from five collaborating HBCUs are building a consortium of data science and business analytics researchers, scholars and industry partners designed to inspire and extend a culture of academic development and research collaborations across the region, state, and ultimately, the nation.

Along with Stukes, the partnering faculty from HBCUs - Florida A&M University, Alabama A&M University, Bowie State University, Morehouse College, and Norfolk State University -recently received a seed grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded South Big Data Innovation Hub to develop and implement this consortium.

The new HBCU Data Science Consortium (HBCU-DSC) seeks to provide an accessible and beneficial platform within the HBCU community that will promote collaboration and support the “cross-pollination” of data analysis tools, data, and ideas across the HBCU community.

“African American and Hispanic or Latino professionals are underrepresented in the field of data science”, said Stukes. “Johnson C. Smith University and several other HBCUs have been working to address this need by providing students across the nation with high-demand data skills. The HBCU Data Science Consortium is an exciting way to build a diverse community of practice that could help accelerate and expand our reach. I am deeply grateful for the support of the South Big Data Hub.”

The Inaugural HBCU Data Science Workshop is titled “HBCU Data Science Consortium (HBCU-DSC) – Building Data Science Pillars,” and is scheduled to be held virtually February 19-20, 2021.