Stillman College, a Tuscaloosa-based HBCU, was 1 of 11 HBCUs chosen to become part of the HBCU Brilliance Initiative, a new program that is the first-of-its-kind. The HBCU Brilliance Initiative provides each college with $40,000 grants, up to $1 million in low-interest financing and opportunities to expand their network of financial experts and advisors. According to the American Council on Education, private HBCUs experienced the deepest decline in federal funds per student between 2003 to 2015. The initiative hopes to bridge that gap. According to Yolanda Page, president of Stillman College, the $40,000 grant will be used to conduct preliminary work, while the $1 million in financing gives Stillman the ability to kick infrastructure projects into motion. Another priority for the grant is digitizing important documents. The college’s proposal focuses on four areas, including condition assessments of campus buildings and using some of the funds for budget modeling. Along with the ...