PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS

Tuskegee University Receives $100,000 from Microsoft

The Microsoft Artificial Intelligence Initiative awarded $100,000 to Tuskegee University that will enable researchers to leverage technology to develop real-time resource management using reinforcement learning, one of the most discussed techniques in artificial intelligence (AI). The award will enhance the university’s research capacity in AI and provide students with AI research opportunities with faculty. The award also provides an opportunity to enhance the collaboration between the university and Microsoft. It provides support for the university’s cybersecurity program and enhances the data science program. The AI project complements existing research initiatives in the College of Business and Information Science and the College of Engineering, whose key objective is to bring together a better-integrated future that creates the broadest possible benefit for humanity.

Academic Excellence Shines in Honda All-Star Challenge

Tuskegee University participated in its 33rd Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC) National Championship Tournament. The HCASC quiz bowl is America’s premier academic competition among HBCUs that brings together more than 300 HBCU students, coaches, presidents, and institutional representatives for a tournament that uniquely combines educational and personal development experiences beyond the classroom. The Tuskegee University team advanced through the preliminary rounds and was one of 16 teams to compete in the playoffs and advanced to the HCASC National Championship Tournament. Tuskegee has won two Honda Campus All-Star Challenge championships resulting in financial support coming back to the university.

School of Architecture and Construction Science hosts 6th Annual Design Expo

Tuskegee University’s Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science (TSACS) hosted its 6th Annual Design + Construction Management Expo, Feb. 6–10. The Expo connects TSACS students with developments in the architecture, construction, and design industries. The weeklong expo featured a career fair, professional-led seminars, and interactive workshops for students. Students also were recognized for internship placements and for participating in the team that won first place in the 2022 National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) competition and 2023 National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) competition team.

According to the School of Architecture and Science dean, Dr. Carla Jackson Bell, “[the school’s] mission is to develop skilled professionals capable of playing active roles in shaping communities by building meaningful places for all people. This year, TSACS partnered with Creative’s XP, a professional development platform founded by Tuskegee architecture alum Jennifer Taylor Matthews ‘13. Creative’s XP introduces design-related students to traditional and nontraditional career paths while supporting them through career readiness and job acquisition.

Architecture Students win First Place in National Competition

Tuskegee University’s Department of Architecture students won first place in the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) student competition that was held in Nashville, Tennessee. The team competed against nearly 30 NOMA student chapters and made history as the first HBCU to win the competition since the inception of the Barbara Laurie Student Design Competition in 2013. Journi Goodman was awarded the 2022 National NOMAS Student of the Year.

The competition was designed to simulate a real planning and development scenario requiring students to envision a complex that serves as a cultural center to preserve the history of North Nashville and a new bridge to serve as a landmark and monument for the community. Students tackled real-world challenges and were tasked with developing a project focused on the gentrification and displacement of North Nashville community residents as the result of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Interstate Highway System in the 1960s. A main priority was also to show how design and architectural strategies can rebuild a community.