MOBILE, Ala. — Bishop State Community College will receive $2,197,586 in one-time federal HBCU funding, part of a new U.S. Department of Education investment in the nation’s historically Black colleges, universities and community colleges.
The funding was announced Tuesday by U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who praised the department’s latest round of support for the schools. Nationwide, the Education Department is directing more than $174 million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, known as HBCUs, and Historically Black Community Colleges, or HBCCs.
Alabama, home to more HBCUs than any other state, received the largest share of the announcement: $21,259,618 in total for its historically Black institutions.
How Bishop State’s award breaks down
According to the list released by Britt’s office, Bishop State’s total comes from two separate awards: one for $1,947,586 and another for $250,000. Together, they make the Mobile college’s share among the largest in the state, and the largest for any two-year school on the list.
The announcement did not detail how each institution plans to use its money. The department described the funding as a one-time investment.
Statewide breakdown
Here is how the Alabama funding is distributed among the state’s HBCUs and HBCCs:
- Alabama State University: $2,873,624
- Alabama A&M University: $2,831,147
- Bishop State Community College: $2,197,586 (two awards of $1,947,586 and $250,000)
- Lawson State Community College: $2,120,333
- Tuskegee University: $1,767,981
- Talladega College: $1,516,171
- Stillman College: $1,512,947
- Trenholm State Community College: $1,381,133
- Miles College: $1,250,191
- Oakwood University: $1,199,509
- Shelton State Community College (Fredd Campus): $1,161,241
- J.F. Drake State Community and Technical College: $947,755
- Gadsden State Community College: $500,000
The list includes both four-year universities and two-year community and technical colleges. Several of the community colleges, including Bishop State, Lawson State, Trenholm State, Drake State, Gadsden State and Shelton State’s Fredd Campus, are part of the Alabama Community College System.
Britt: “These investments are well-deserved”
Britt, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she has raised the needs of HBCUs directly with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
“Alabama is home to some of the finest HBCUs and HBCCs in the nation, and the standard of excellence they produce makes these investments well-deserved,” Britt said. “I’m proud to be a champion of Alabama’s HBCUs in the Senate, securing funding through my role on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and raising their needs directly with Secretary McMahon. I will continue to fight for these outstanding institutions, and I’m thrilled to see President Trump and Secretary McMahon continue to invest in HBCUs and HBCCs at a historic rate.”
Britt’s record on HBCU issues
Britt is a member of the Senate’s HBCU Caucus. Earlier this year, she and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., introduced the bipartisan HBCU Research Capacity Act, which is aimed at making it easier for historically Black institutions to find and compete for federal funding.
According to the senators, the bill would create a federal clearinghouse and central website listing grant opportunities available to HBCUs, share best practices for building research capacity, and require regular updates to the schools and reports to Congress. In announcing the legislation, the senators noted that HBCUs receive less than 1% of the roughly $60 billion in federal research and development funding that goes to colleges and universities.
Britt previously served as a trustee at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa. Her office says she has helped secure nearly $15 million in direct funding for Alabama’s HBCUs and HBCCs, including more than $12 million to relaunch Tuskegee University’s Aviation and Aerospace Technology program. Tuskegee awarded her an honorary doctorate in November 2025.
About Bishop State Community College
Bishop State traces its roots to the summer of 1927, when it began as the Mobile branch of Alabama State College, offering extension courses that served African American teachers. The Broad Street site that is now its main campus was acquired in 1942.
The school went through several name changes over the following decades. It became Alabama State College – Mobile Center in 1963 and then Mobile State Junior College in 1965, when it became an independent institution. In 1971, the Legislature renamed it S.D. Bishop State Junior College in honor of Sanford D. Bishop, who led the school from 1965 until his death in 1981. It took its current name, Bishop State Community College, in 1989.
In 1991, Bishop State consolidated with two Mobile technical colleges, Southwest State Technical College and Carver State Technical College, which became its Southwest and Carver campuses. The Baker-Gaines Central campus, which houses health-related programs, opened in 1995.
Today, the college is part of the Alabama Community College System and offers academic transfer programs, health sciences, career and technical education, workforce development, adult education and GED preparation, and early college options for high school students. Its athletic teams are known as the Wildcats.
Olivier Charles, a Mobile native and Murphy High School graduate, has served as Bishop State’s president since August 2022. He was appointed by the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees after serving as the system’s vice chancellor for student success.
A busy stretch for federal dollars at Bishop State
The HBCU funding follows other recent federal support for the college. Earlier this month, Bishop State received a $2 million U.S. Department of Commerce grant through the Economic Development Administration to build out training in submarine, marine electric and manufacturing trades, an effort aimed at the industrial workforce along Mobile’s waterfront.
The college also recently completed its first maritime boot camp, part of a broader push to prepare workers for shipbuilding and other jobs tied to the Port of Mobile and the region’s industrial base.
Why HBCU funding matters
HBCUs were established primarily to provide higher education to Black Americans at a time when many colleges excluded them. Alabama’s collection of historically Black institutions spans the state, from Tuskegee University, founded in 1881 with Booker T. Washington as its first leader, to community colleges such as Bishop State that serve working adults, recent high school graduates and students seeking technical credentials.
For two-year colleges in particular, one-time federal dollars can help pay for needs that are difficult to cover with regular operating budgets, though specific plans for this round of funding have not been announced.
What’s next
Bishop State has not yet announced how it will use the $2.2 million. Students and community members can find more information about the college’s programs and campuses at its main campus, 351 N. Broad St., Mobile, or by calling 251-405-7000.