Southern University And A & M College

Southern University And A & M College Office Of Sponsored Programs Division, doing business as Baton Rouge Campus, is a historically black land-grant research institution that operates as a federal grant and contract recipient across research, education, and infrastructure development. The institution is a public, Carnegie R2 research university and one of the nation's largest HBCUs, operating 730 Harding Boulevard in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with performance at its Scotlandville campus. Southern competes as a prime recipient on federal grants (84% of recent awards) and as a sub-recipient on collaborative research and education initiatives, serving 79 distinct federal agencies across civilian research, defense, education, and infrastructure programs.

Southern's grant portfolio centers on research and workforce development in STEM disciplines, agricultural sciences, and educational capacity building. Representative prime grant work includes a $2.766 million Title III Part-F (Future Act) Comprehensive Development Plan award from the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education to strengthen institutional fiscal operations and academic quality through 2027; a $1.528 million collaborative research award from the National Science Foundation Division of Physics for LIGO Science Education Center partnership activities in public STEM outreach and teacher professional development through 2028; a $1.1 million NSF CAREER award for K-12 science teacher preparation resource development through 2030; a $9.504 million USDA Forest Service award under the Inflation Reduction Act Urban and Community Forestry Program for ecosystem services and environmental justice initiatives through 2029; and a $6.265 million Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education award for a Research and Development Infrastructure Initiative through 2027. Defense Research Projects Agency, National Science Foundation Integrative Activities, and Department of Defense Basic Research programs have funded materials science research, including awards for additive manufacturing, advanced metal joining, extreme-environment materials characterization, and machine learning applications in materials science. Southern also holds multiple capacity-building awards from the Department of Education for Upward Bound Math and Science programs, Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement, and rehabilitation counselor training under the Rehabilitation Long-Term Training program.

Customer concentration is distributed across civilian research and education agencies, with the top five agencies by award count accounting for 44% of awards. The National Science Foundation leads with 47 awards; the Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture holds 65 awards across scholarship and agricultural research programs; the Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education accounts for 40 awards; and the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education carries 38 awards, primarily Upward Bound and Title programs administered through Louisiana Department of Administration sub-awards. By potential dollar value, the Army Corps of Engineers Engineering Districts (St. Louis and New Orleans combined) anchor roughly $5 million in potential value across 22 task orders; the Navy Bureau of Naval Personnel carries eight tuition-support delivery orders valued at $1.3 million; and NASA and NSF research awards form the remainder. Southern has not won federal contract IDVs or GWACs; its vehicle footprint consists of task orders under Army and Navy indefinite delivery contracts, including W912P908D0501 (11 task orders, $1.1 million), N0018919GZ032 (7 task orders, $1.3 million), and W912P807D0001 (7 task orders, $1.7 million).

Activity has remained steady at 25–37 awards annually over the past five years, with 14 awards received year-to-date in 2026. Twenty-nine awards reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, exposing Southern to recompete across education, research, and infrastructure programs. Southern operates primarily as a grant recipient, not a federal contractor; its contract portfolio is minimal (eight Navy and Army delivery orders totaling under $2 million for NROTC midshipmen tuition ratification and educational service agreements). Sub-award engagement clusters on research collaborations with Louisiana State University, Louisiana Department of Administration education funding pass-throughs, and specialized research partnerships with universities including the University of Rochester (inertial confinement fusion), University of Delaware (composite structures for NASA), and South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (IceCube astroparticle physics). The vendor's named subsidiary, Southern University Agricultural & Mechanical College, carries the same designations and operates under the parent structure. Southern's federal footprint reflects a research institution focused on STEM capacity building, workforce development, and applied research in advanced manufacturing, environmental science, and agricultural innovation, with no prime contract business development activity or commercial contracting posture.