Lincoln University

Lincoln University, a historically Black land-grant institution located in Jefferson City, Missouri, serves as both an educational institution and a federal contractor and grant recipient. Established as the nation's first degree-granting historically Black college and university, Lincoln University holds the designation of a 1890 Land-Grant Institution and operates across multiple business classifications including educational institution, state-controlled institution of higher learning, and historically Black college or university. Through federal contracts and grants, Lincoln University provides specialized academic training, research services, and educational programming to support federal agencies and national priorities in areas ranging from military training to agricultural advancement and rural development.

Lincoln University has delivered specialized academic and technical training services to the federal government primarily through its indefinite delivery contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Under this contract vehicle, which holds a ceiling value of $2,010,814.40 and runs from April 2021 through April 2026, Lincoln University has issued numerous firm fixed-price task orders for the U.S. Army Prime Power School (USAPPS) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. These task orders, typically valued at $133,926.33 each with some reaching $403,682.87, provide classroom instruction for Army personnel on the installation, maintenance, and operation of power equipment. The delivery orders are classified as educational support services with no set-aside designations. Lincoln University serves as the prime contractor on all these task orders, assuming full responsibility for delivering the specified instruction services. The contract demonstrates the university's capacity to provide consistent, high-quality technical training in support of critical military operational needs, with task orders issued regularly from 2021 through 2025.

Through federal grants, Lincoln University has established itself as a significant recipient of funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA), the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies. The university has received substantial capacity-building grants under the 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grants Program (CFDA 10.216), with award values ranging from approximately $300,000 to $800,000 for three-year project periods. These grants support research and education initiatives in areas including soil health, sustainable agriculture, forest farming, small ruminant production, aquaculture, hemp production, food safety, and climate-smart agriculture. Lincoln University also receives formula grants for extension and research programs, nutrition education, forestry, and renewable resources management, with awards from agencies such as the Institute of Youth, Family, and Community, the Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, and the Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment. Additionally, the university has received major competitive grants including a $10 million award under the "From Learning to Leading" program in consortium with other institutions, a $725,669 National Science Foundation grant on rural resilience, a $5.96 million Department of Commerce telecommunications grant for student technology access, a $5 million USDA grant for climate-smart hemp markets, and cooperative agreements with federal agencies including a $300,000 Department of Defense award for cognitive workload research. Lincoln University frequently partners with other institutions such as North Carolina A&T State University, University of Missouri System, Washington University in St. Louis, and various other universities and organizations as both prime grantee and sub-award recipient, leveraging collaborative relationships to expand research and educational capacity across multiple disciplines targeting underrepresented and underserved populations.

Lincoln University holds a single-award indefinite delivery contract (IDC) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the U.S. Army Prime Power School (USAPPS) Academic Training program. This contract, awarded April 16, 2021 with an ultimate completion date of April 25, 2026, carries a ceiling value of $2,010,814.40 and operates without any set-aside designation. Under this IDC vehicle, the Army Corps of Engineers issues individual task orders to Lincoln University for the delivery of specialized classroom instruction to Army personnel at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The contract requires Lincoln University to provide academic training in support of the Prime Power School's mission to train soldiers on power equipment installation, maintenance, and operation. Task orders issued under this IDC have varied in value, with most orders valued at approximately $133,926.33 for single-class training sessions spanning four to six months, though some orders have reached $403,682.87 for multi-class training in the first year of the contract. All task orders are firm fixed-price delivery orders with no set-aside designations, placing full performance responsibility on Lincoln University as the prime contractor. The contract framework allows the Army Corps of Engineers to efficiently procure ongoing academic training services through individual task orders rather than renegotiating separate contracts, demonstrating an established and valued relationship between the federal agency and Lincoln University's capacity to deliver consistent, high-quality technical instruction supporting critical military training requirements.