For the next five years, Kennesaw State University will have $200,000 more a year to make make black and Hispanic students more successful.

The Maryland-based Howard Hughes Medical Institute announced Wednesday it has given KSU a $1 million grant for those STEM — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — students.

It was one of the 33 institutions chosen from 594 across the country and was the only one in Georgia.

READKennesaw State grows high-tech gaming program

The HHMI initiative seeks to help underrepresented ethnic minorities, first-generation college students or working adults with families.

The schools submitted plans to develop more inclusive learning environments in STEM.

Science stuff!Kennesaw State will now play football on 'carpet-based hybrid grass'

The grant will support faculty development and changes in teaching methods in addition to funding the redesigning of classroom experiences to improve learning opportunities for all students, the school said in a news release.

“This will help us broaden participation in all the areas of science a student may choose to pursue, everything from studying about the origins of the universe, to changes in the environment, to zoology,” said Mark Anderson, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics.

In other nerdy news...

Video courtesy of Kennesaw State University.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Michael Collins, former Color Of Change director, poses for a portrait at the soccer ball sculpture at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Tuesday, September 9, 2025. He’s leading a new coalition, Play Fair ATL, to hold Atlanta accountable on human rights ahead of the 2026 World Cup. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Featured

A rendering of the columbarium memorial that is estimated to be completed by next summer or fall in the southeast part of Oakland Cemetery, officials said. (Courtesy of Historic Oakland Foundation)

Credit: Historic Oakland Foundation