The U.S. Department of Education has announced the 2023 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week Conference, set to take place in Arlington, Virginia, from September 24-28.

The annual conference is to be a gathering of influential figures in the HBCU community and follows the Department of Education’s “Back to School Bus Tour.” During this tour, Secretary Cardona visited Harris-Stowe State University in Missouri to highlight the administration’s support for HBCUs, which has included over $7.3 billion in direct investments.

Additionally, the Biden-Harris administration has granted Dillard University, an HBCU located in New Orleans, over $287,000 as part of its Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) initiative. These funds will be used to hire mental health counselors, offer teletherapy for the university community, and provide training programs for faculty, students, and staff to cope with the aftermath of bomb threats received by the university.