Apple will partner with Shaw and St. Aug’s to bring coding opportunities to Raleigh
Raleigh’s Shaw University and St. Augustine’s University are set to benefit from a new partnership with the largest tech company in the world.
The two historically Black colleges said this week they are joining Apple’s Community Education Initiative, an effort by the iPhone maker to add more coding and technology education in under-represented communities.
Through the partnerships Apple is supporting the two universities with equipment and professional development.
Lynette Wood, dean of Shaw’s school of business and professional studies, said the university hopes to create a new coding class for students using the Apple equipment and curriculum. Shaw also plans to assist a local community organization with its technology needs through the initiative.
The class, if approved by Shaw officials, would be targeted toward first-year students.
Wood said the introduction of the coding course could be transformational for many students, and could help the university feed a pipeline of students into the Triangle’s burgeoning technology scene.
“This will be an opportunity to interest colleges students in careers with tech,” Wood said in an interview. “You might not come into college wanting to work in technology, but a course early in their careers in coding could change that.”
In an email, Apple said that it looked forward to working with both Shaw and St. Aug’s.
”Apple is committed to working alongside communities of color to advance educational equity,” Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, said in a statement. “We see this expansion of our Community Education Initiative and partnership with HBCUs as another step toward helping Black students realize their dreams and solve the problems of tomorrow.”
Apple initially announced its community education program in July, naming 10 HBCUs as beneficiaries. But the company always planned to expand the number of schools involved, and now nearly three dozen HBCUs are working with the company.
Tech companies get more serious about diversity
Shaw, and other historically Black colleges, have been landing more partnerships with tech companies in recent months. Many of them are initiatives that sprung up after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis and the protests that followed, as companies began to recognize their individual failings in promoting a diverse workforce.
“The typical high-tech company was concerned about a lack of diversity, but they might not have as aggressively done what it takes to diversify their workforce,” Wood said. “But with the social justice awareness rising in this country I am seeing an added interest.”
For example, Wood said that Red Hat, whose office overlooks Shaw University’s downtown Raleigh campus, inked a partnership this summer to help support the school’s computer science program and mentor students.
The university is hopeful that the partnerships will result in more internships for Shaw students and eventual employment with the company.
“Our goal is to produce more graduates that are ready to be employed at a high-tech company like Red Hat,” Wood said.
Wood said she hopes to find more corporate partners to help Shaw build up its faculty around computer science.
In a statement, St. Aug’s said it also hopes the investment in technology education will translate to employment for students.
“This initiative has the capacity to impact future employment opportunities for students while expanding the skill sets of our faculty and staff,” said Mark Melton, dean of St. Aug’s school of science, math and public health. “As importantly, we are excited about the potential impact on our entire community. To offer coding training to community members allows Saint Augustine’s University to expand its engagement with and impact on the community.”
While North Carolina is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse states, its technology industry lags behind much of the country when it comes to representation, The News & Observer reported last year.
North Carolina ranked 22nd among all states measured by the percentage of tech workers identifying as people of color compared to the makeup of the state’s overall population, according to figures from the NC Tech Association.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
