Category:Shaw University

Shaw University Brief History

Shaw University is a non-profit private Baptist historically Black university. The university was founded on December 1st, 1865 by Henry Martin Tupper. Shaw University is known as the 1st HBCU in the South. Shaw University's innovation and entrepreneurship aspects are up and coming. The innovation and entrepreneurship amongst Shaw University's campus are currently aimed toward students. An example would be our BearsConnect app, which was created to connect students with other students as well as be aware of the different events and opportunities on campus. The student body at Shaw University's campus displays entrepreneurship among the campus by hosting student vendor villages annually. Student vendor villages are usually hosted by the Student Government Association in effect to allow students to display their own businesses and sell their products.

As the oldest HBCU in the South, Shaw University can be considered a leader and trendsetter. the first to have a four-year medical program. The first historically black college in the nation to open its doors to women and the first historically black college in North Carolina to be granted an “A” rating by the State Department of Public Instruction. Shaw's student body consists of students representing over 30 states and numerous foreign countries. The University has numerous undergraduate degrees, such as Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Social Work. In addition, it offers graduate-level degrees, leading to the Master of Divinity, the Master of Arts in Christian Education, and the Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction-Early Childhood Education. Their accredited programs include kinesiotherapy, social work, divinity, and teacher education.

Entrepreneurship & Innovation

As a way to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, Shaw University partnered with the Carolina Small Business Development Fund's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center. The purpose of the center is to "inspire, connect, encourage, and support startups, students, and existing entrepreneurs." The center plans on achieving its goals by focusing on three programming areas: entrepreneurial training, business incubation, and financial resource services. Through this partnership, students are able to utilize the off-campus space to start their own entrepreneurial projects and host innovation events.

Another way that Shaw University promotes entrepreneurship is by partnering with American Underground. American Underground believes that startups expand and diversify economic potential, but that they require cultivation. The American Underground provides the Triangle's front door to the resources that businesses, their founders, and workers require. It does this through a connected community, flexible workspace, and curated content that accesses the network of specialists in the area.

Growing the Open Source Talent Pipeline with Shaw University

In 2020, Red Hat established a strategic relationship with Shaw University, an HBCU located near our headquarters in Raleigh, NC., designed to support its growing Computer Science program and offer training, certification, and internship opportunities to students. Some of the activities include virtual events with Red Hat associates focused on a variety of topics, from skills building, such as resume writing and interview techniques, to more technology-specific sessions that introduced students to Linux, Python, cloud computing, GitHub, open source communities, and agile development. In addition to our work with students, we are also working closely with faculty to help with curriculum development as well as creating a sponsored faculty fellowship.

In addition to our work with Shaw University, this year Red Hat signed on as a founding corporate member of the "All In" program. In collaboration with GitHub and The Linux Foundation, among others, the program focuses on creating a more inclusive open source community. Through education, professional development, and hands-on experience, 30 students from six HBCUs and one university founded for the education of Native Americans will have the opportunity to learn about open source. In order to provide the best experience for students, our Blacks United in Leadership and Diversity (B.U.I.L.D.) Employee Resource Group (ERG), alongside our Native & Indigenous ERG, worked to identify teams and projects for them to work on and provided mentors. The program culminates with a summer internship in 2022, providing real-world experience and networking opportunities to provide training that the students can build upon graduation. Red Hat will be hosting four of the All In students next summer.

Shaw University Launches Only HBCU-Based Cyber Operations Program In The Nation

In the fall 2021 semester, Shaw University launched its new Center for Cybersecurity Education and Research (C-CER) focused on increasing minority representation in cybersecurity careers through academic instruction and training. This program makes Shaw University the only HBCU and the only university in the state of North Carolina with this type of program. Additionally, the C-CER will establish a direct pipeline for students to transition into cybersecurity-related roles through academic degree offerings, training and professional development activities, and research initiatives. Dr. James Brown, assistant professor and program coordinator for the Shaw University Computer Science program, will serve as C-CER’s first director. The Cyber Operations program focuses on two critical areas within cybersecurity: ethical hacking and malware analysis.

In January 2022, C-CER also established the Cy(Bear)security Research Group focused on Internet of Things security using artificial immune systems and machine learning. Students researchers are learning networking, security, Python/Java programming, and full-stack development to build cutting-edge intrusion detection systems. Lenovo has contributed $25k to support the mission of the Center for Cybersecurity Education and Research (C-CER) at Shaw University. The Lenovo grant will be used to offer scholarships to the student research and fund the purchase of computing equipment to continue their research.

Live Well Wake

Shaw University is partnering with Wake County Health and Human Services to implement a component of the Live Well Wake program to improve COVID-19 services in Wake County geared toward high-risk and traditionally underserved populations. The program was made possible by a $38 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded to Wake County Health and Human Services. The Live Well Wake initiative brings together community-based organizations (i.e., United Way of the Greater Triangle and Southeastern Healthcare of N.C.) and local Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Shaw and St. Augustine’s University) to advance health equity, expand support for innovative approaches in addressing COVID-19, and obtain information to inform health equity decisions and evaluative designs for improving data collection and reporting activities, oriented toward reduction of health disparities among high-risk and underserved populations in Wake County communities.

Shaw University’s participants in the Live Well Wake Initiative represent the School of Arts, Science, and Humanities and the School of Divinity, and include Dr. Valerie Johnson, Dean, and Professor of Sociology; Dr. MaNina McNeill, Department Head of Social Work, Sociology & Justice Studies; Dr. Shelby Palmer, Associate Professor of Psychology; Dr. Portia Rochelle, Part-Time Assistant Professor of Religion; and Dr. Dorothy C. Browne, Senior Research Scientist, Social Work, Sociology and Justice Studies. In addition, some students from the university also will assist in the program.