Southern Adventist University will lose its largest grant ever after the Department of Education this month canceled $350 million in funding for minority-serving institutions across the U.S.
The decision came after the Justice Department announced it would not defend the department from a lawsuit brought by the state of Tennessee claiming the program illegally discriminated on the basis of race.
Southern was two years into the $3 million grant’s five-year disbursement period. The grant included funding for science laboratory upgrades, curriculum revision and an administrative office staffed by three employees.
In a statement emailed to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Becky Brooks, a spokesperson for the university, said the university does not expect to receive the grant in the next funding cycle, which begins in October.