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 university and U.S. government entity that receives federal grants and serves as a prime recipient and sub-recipient on research, STEM education, and workforce development initiatives across 78 federal agencies. The institution does not compete as a prime contractor on federal service contracts but operates as a grant recipient and collaborating research partner, with 85% of its award footprint as prime grants and 15% as sub-recipient arrangements.

The university's federal award portfolio spans education, research infrastructure, materials science, and community development. Recent prime grant work includes a $1.41 billion Title III Part-F Comprehensive Development Plan from the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education (CFDA 84.031) for institutional capacity building; a $1.53 million collaborative research award from the National Science Foundation's Division of Physics (CFDA 47.049) to operate the LIGO Science Education Center in partnership with LIGO Livingston and the Exploratorium, delivering docent training, teacher professional development, and K-12 outreach in gravitational-wave physics; a $999.9 million Department of Defense Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research grant (CFDA 12.630) for a low-temperature magnet system for extreme-environment materials characterization; and a $505.3 thousand Department of Agriculture NIFA Scholarships for Students at 1890 Institutions award (CFDA 10.524) providing approximately 50 full and 40 partial scholarships to undergraduate students in food and agricultural sciences. The Department of Navy's Bureau of Naval Personnel has placed six educational service agreements between $89.9 thousand and $295.1 thousand for Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NROTC) tuition and allowable fees at the Baton Rouge campus, awarded annually from 2022 through December 2025.

Customer concentration reflects a research and education institution model. The top five funding agencies account for 44% of awards: the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (65 awards), the National Science Foundation (46 awards), the Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education (40 awards), the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (34 awards), and the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (25 awards). Potential value concentration differs: the Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District (11 awards, $2.8 million) and New Orleans District (11 awards, $2.2 million) anchor dollars despite lower award counts, reflecting the university's involvement in civil works and hydrology research studies. The source shows obligated dollars of $506.1 million against a combined potential value of $24.4 million, indicating the university has received substantial prior-year funding for multi-year research projects.

The institution maintains active sub-recipient relationships on NSF research networks and cooperative agreements. Southern University serves as a sub-recipient on an NSF RII Track-2 FEC award from Louisiana State University for additive manufacturing qualification (CAM-Q) with Auburn University; on an NSF Excellence in Research project from LSU investigating dissimilar metal joints using additive friction stir deposition; on university consortium work with Florida A&M for vinification research; on the IceCube EPSCoR Initiative from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; and on multiple Louisiana Department of Administration pass-through education and STEM funding mechanisms. The university also subcontracts with Boeing on aerospace upper-stage manufacturing and development work.

Activity remains active but moderated. The five-year award trend shows 31 awards in 2022, declining to 25 in 2023, rising to 37 in 2024, then declining to 28 in 2025, with only six awards recorded in 2026 (current year, sparse data). Thirty-eight awards are scheduled for ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete activity across multiple agencies.

The university operates as a Carnegie R2 research institution and qualifies as a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and 1890 land-grant institution, characteristics that anchor its eligibility for NSF HBCU-UP programs, Department of Defense research capacity-building grants (CFDA 12.630 and 12.431 Excellence in Research awards), and Department of Education Title III and Title V institutional strengthening funds. Federal investment has focused on research infrastructure acquisition (laser powder bed fusion equipment, magnet systems, robotics for welding and corrosion research), STEM teacher preparation through Noyce scholarships and HBCU-UP Targeted Infusion awards, and community safety initiatives through Department of Justice and FEMA crisis intervention and violence prevention programming. The university's portfolio reflects its mission as a teaching and research institution serving underrepresented populations in STEM and agricultural sciences.