Norfolk, Va. - Vice President Joe Biden spoke at Norfolk State University on Thursday to announce a $25 million grant to support cybersecurity education at 13 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Biden was joined by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and White House Science Advisor John Holdren
The announcement was part of a roundtable discussion with cybersecurity leaders and students at Norfolk State.
The $25 million grant will be provided over the next five years and will support the creation of a new cybersecurity consortium consisting of 13 HBCUs, two national DOE labs, and the K-12 Charleston County School District .
Norfolk State will serve as the lead school in the consortium.
This visit builds on President Obama’s earlier announcements on cybersecurity that focused on the critical need to fill the growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in the U.S. job market, while also diversifying the pipeline of talent in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
The full list of participating consortium members are:
Virginia
Norfolk State University (lead)
Georgia
Clark Atlanta University
Paine College
Maryland
Bowie State University
North Carolina
North Carolina A&T State University
South Carolina
Allen University
Benedict College
Claflin University
Denmark Technical College
Morris College
South Carolina State University
Voorhees College
Charleston County School District
US Virgin Islands
University of the Virgin Islands
California
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
New Mexico
Sandia National Laboratory