Bethune-Cookman University, Inc.

Bethune-Cookman University, Inc. Sponsored Programs Division, a tax-exempt historically Black college and university (HBCU) based in Daytona Beach, Florida, is a federal grant recipient that delivers STEM education, research capacity building, and workforce development programming to undergraduate students and faculty, with an emerging profile as a subgrantee on multi-institutional research and infrastructure projects. The institution competes for federal research and educational grants without set-aside designations, operating across 33 distinct federal agencies and amassing 77 awards (86% as prime recipient, 14% as sub-recipient) with a combined potential value of $4.8 million, though obligated dollars total $177.8 million, reflecting multi-year execution of legacy awards.

Bethune-Cookman's funding concentration splits across education and research agencies. The Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education anchors the largest award count (14 grants covering Title III institutional strengthening and HBCU-focused educational initiatives); the National Science Foundation and the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration follow with 7 awards each across STEM education, learning science, and workforce development fellowships. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center holds the largest dollar concentration ($1.5 million combined potential value across two cooperative agreements), led by a $1.5 million DEAP Institute cooperative agreement awarded in March 2023 that establishes data-intensive space-based earth sciences research capacity at the institution through machine learning, satellite constellation development, paid internships at NASA centers, and NOAA partnership. Recent capability work includes a $924,998 Title III Part F Higher Education Institutional Aid grant from the Department of Education (October 2025 through September 2026) for institutional strengthening, an $897,563 NSF Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) project grant (CFDA 47.070) for the FORCORE cybersecurity infrastructure project running through December 2028, a $384,976 Department of Defense Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in Science and Engineering (CFDA 12.630) grant awarded in May 2026 for an undergraduate networked autonomous robotics initiative, and a $300,000 NSF STEM Education (CFDA 47.076) research initiation award for online biology tutoring and computational thinking instruction.

Activity shows recent volatility with 8 awards in 2023, 2 in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 4 in 2026; only four awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating limited recompete exposure in the near term. The institution operates as a subgrantee to Florida A&M University on a NOAA Cooperative Science Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems grant, to Carnegie Mellon University on the Data Science for Education (DS4EDU) training institute recruiting function, to the IRL Council on seagrass restoration in the Indian River Lagoon, and to the State of Florida Division of Emergency Management on multiple campus debris removal and emergency protective measures grants stemming from hurricane recovery. The Service Contract Inventory dataset captures minimal activity—only 2 SCI records, both as named subcontractor, spanning FY2022–FY2024 with roughly 5 to 4.6 FTEs—reflecting the institution's primary role as a grant recipient delivering academic and research programming rather than as a federal service contractor. Bethune-Cookman's federal footprint is characteristically research and education oriented, with top NAICS categories including Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools and Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences; its customer base and award composition reflect the institution's HBCU designation and eligibility for NSF, DOE, and NASA education and capacity-building initiatives targeting underrepresented populations in STEM.