Norfolk State University

Norfolk State University, a state-controlled, tax-exempt, non-profit historically black college and university headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, operates as a federal grant recipient and prime contractor providing educational services, STEM research, and workforce development to civilian federal agencies. The institution serves as an HBCU recipient under federal grant programs and as a prime contractor delivering tuition, fees, and educational services through Navy contracts and other federal procurements.

Norfolk State University operates primarily as a grant recipient (96% of awards are prime) across a diverse federal funding portfolio spanning 66 distinct customer agencies. The source data reflects 346 total awards with a combined potential value of $16.5 million, though the combined dollars obligated across all awards stands at $462.3 million, indicating significant historical receipt of federal funding. Award activity has grown in recent years—from 14 awards in 2022 to 16 in 2025—with three awards recorded in the first five months of 2026. The university's primary customer concentration sits with the National Science Foundation (64 awards), the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education (33 awards), and the Department of the Army (38 awards, $9 thousand combined potential value). The top potential-value customers include NASA Langley Research Center ($1.1 million across three awards), NASA Shared Services Center ($457 thousand across seven awards), and the Department of the Navy Bureau of Naval Personnel ($374 thousand across nine awards).

Norfolk State University's grant portfolio spans NSF STEM education, research capacity building, and workforce development programs. Representative recent grant work includes a $519,949 NSF Office of Integrative Activities project grant (CFDA 47.083) for excellence in research investigating novel spin textures in non-centrosymmetric magnetic materials, awarded October 1, 2025 with completion targeted for September 30, 2026; a $1.298 million Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education Higher Education Institutional Aid grant (CFDA 84.031) for HBCU institutional strengthening, awarded October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026; a $5 million Department of Agriculture Forest Service Inflation Reduction Act Urban and Community Forestry Program grant (CFDA 10.727) for urban forestry planning and community tree-canopy expansion, awarded August 17, 2024 with a five-year completion date of August 16, 2029; and a $734,219 NSF STEM Education grant (CFDA 47.076) for the Pipeline to Purpose project providing scholarships to 15 STEM students pursuing teacher licensure over five years, awarded June 1, 2024 with completion targeted for May 31, 2029. NSU also holds a $200,000 NSF STEM Education grant (CFDA 47.076) for AI-SECURE, an artificial intelligence and cybersecurity capacity-building initiative launched January 1, 2025, and a $600,000 NSF Computing and Communication Foundations grant (CFDA 47.070) for real-time aerial imaging with edge AI, awarded October 1, 2023 with completion scheduled for September 30, 2026.

Norfolk State University holds federal contract awards primarily through Navy vehicles. The university holds a basic ordering agreement with the Department of the Navy Bureau of Naval Personnel (N0018919GZ022) generating seven task orders valued at $375 thousand combined for NROTC midshipmen tuition and allowable fees. Recent Navy delivery orders include a February 27, 2026 order for $39,807 for Spring Semester Q2 FY 26 NROTC midshipmen tuition and fees with a May 1, 2026 completion date; a September 17, 2025 order for $51,300 for Fall quarter and FY 2025 NROTC tuition with a December 5, 2025 completion date; a July 11, 2025 order for $74,283 for retroactive Spring 2025 NROTC tuition and fees with a July 17, 2025 completion date; and a March 7, 2025 order for $61,220 for Spring Semester FY 25 NROTC tuition with a May 2, 2025 completion date. Place of performance for all Navy contract work is Norfolk, Virginia.

Norfolk State University serves as a sub-recipient on multiple collaborative research grants. The university participates in research teams anchored by the University of California, Santa Barbara on the ACTION AI Institute (Intelligent Agents for Threat/Vulnerability Assessment using machine learning and AI for cyber defense, intrusion detection, incident response, and threat hunting), with sub-award dates in February, August, and December 2025. NSU also participates in the PEAQS partnership as a sub-recipient under Fort Lewis College leadership (materials science and photonics research), with a sub-award dated February 20, 2026, and in STEM education collaboratives with Chicago State University (photocatalytic sciences and hydrogen evolution research) and the University of Virginia (ocean science, climate, and coastal engineering research). These sub-grant roles emphasize NSU's contribution to data analysis, materials characterization, workforce development, and community engagement within larger collaborative research frameworks.

Fourteen awards are scheduled for ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete exposure in NSU's grant portfolio. The university's business type and tax-exempt status do not position it for federal set-aside categories; all federal contract awards reflect open competition. NAICS concentration centers on colleges, universities, and professional schools (44 awards), with procurement codes concentrated in Education/Training tuition and registration (51 awards), space R&D (11 awards), and educational/vocational training (15 and 9 awards respectively). NSU does not hold a seat on federal government-wide acquisition contracts or GWACs; federal prime engagement flows through direct agency relationships and Navy basic ordering agreements.