Project purpose: virginia state university's broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion project seeks to improve broadband internet access and digital inclusion on the VSU campus and in the…

Virginia State University was awarded a $2,799,180 Project Grant from the Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration under the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CFDA 11.028). The grant will support two key activities - improving the university's broadband infrastructure and enhancing digital inclusion both on and off campus. Infrastructure upgrades include installing new fiber optic cabling, wireless access points, and antenna systems. The university will also distribute laptops to new freshman students from underrepresented groups. To enhance digital inclusion, Virginia State University will join the MidAtlantic Research Infrastructure Alliance to address the digital divide and gain access to the Internet2 network. A digital navigator pilot program and community coding initiative will boost digital literacy and technology adoption in the local communities of Ettrick and Petersburg. The Local Initiatives Support Corporation will assist in implementing the digital navigators program. The project aims to increase internet access, academic excellence, and research capabilities as well as digital skills for students and area K-12 children.

Project purpose: virginia state university's broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion project seeks to improve broadband internet access and digital inclusion on the VSU campus and in the surrounding anchor community which encompasses the village of ettrick and the city of petersburg, VA.activities:the university's project has two project activities which include (1) improvement of their broadband infrastructure and access; and (2) enhancing digital inclusion both on and off-campus. The university will improve their broadband infrastructure by acquiring and installing new fiber optic cabling, access points, and antenna systems across campus. The university will also purchase laptops to distribute to new freshman from a minority supplier to encourage digital literacy and stem learning. The project will enhance the digital inclusion of students and the surrounding anchor community by joining the midatlantic research infrastructure alliance (MARIA). As a member of MARIA, VSU will be able to tackle the digital divide issue and give VSU access to INTERNET2, which provides secure high-speed network, research support, and research services tailored for research and education. The project will also provide comprehensive community services through a new digital navigator pilot program in the anchor community, aimed at boosting digital literacy and technology/internet adoption within the 22 anchor community census tracts targeted by this project. Finally, a community coding initiative will be implemented aimed at helping K-12 students in the ettrick and petersburg communities to allow students to learn coding software and expand their abilities in stem (based out of campus).outcomes:as a result of project implementation, virginia state university expects enhanced internet access, improved academic excellence of VSU students, greater ability of VSU to handle large data and research projects (and an increased number of research & development (R & D) projects), increased digital literacy and computer skills in the anchor community including for K-12 students, and overall increased internet coverage for the VSU campus. Beneficiaries: the VSU faculty and its students would benefit greatly from updates to the campus' infrastructure for in-person and remote learning. The surrounding anchor communities of ettrick and petersburg will benefit from the digital inclusion project. Students will be impacted by campus upgrades and students who receive pell grants will receive WI-FI enabled laptops. Within the petersburg and ettrick communities K-12 school-aged children and adults will participate in the coding initiative.subrecipient activities (if applicable): the local initiatives support corporation will work with VSU to create and implement its digital navigators program both on the VSU campus and in the ettrick and petersburg communities.