Philander Smith University

Philander Smith University is a private historically Black college located in Little Rock, Arkansas, that serves as a minority-serving institution committed to strengthening academic excellence and community engagement. The university's Fiscal Affairs Division manages federal grant awards that support the institution's core mission of enhancing educational opportunities and institutional capacity. As a prime federal grant recipient, Philander Smith University provides services and implements programs focused on educational advancement, workforce development, digital infrastructure modernization, and institutional strengthening for both on-campus and community constituencies.

The university has demonstrated substantial experience delivering federal grant-funded services across multiple program areas and funding agencies. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education awarded the university a $500,000 Project Grant under the Higher Education Institutional Aid program (CFDA 84.031) for fiscal year 2025-2026 to strengthen academic, management, and fiscal capacities as a minority-serving institution through curriculum development, faculty training, and student support services. Previously, the university received a multi-year grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration beginning in March 2023 to implement the Connecting Communities Initiative, which modernized digital infrastructure through broadband expansion, wireless connectivity improvements, one-to-one device distribution to freshmen students, and Wi-Fi hotspot lending programs for both students and community residents, while also expanding workforce development programs aligned with industry needs. The Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration awarded the university $3.14 million in May 2021 through the Economic Adjustment Assistance program to deliver workforce training, economic impact studies, and public facility improvements to the Little Rock region. Additional prime grants from the Office of Postsecondary Education supported the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program, while the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education funded a School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) initiative. The university has also served as a sub-grantee partner with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences on breast cancer diagnostic system research and received sub-awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for campus facility preservation planning and from partners on medical education training programs.