Kellogg Foundation Grant Helps Morgan State Fight HIV and AIDS

$400,000 grant to develop program for new HIV policies and education in urban communities

Morgan State University President Earl S. Richardson announced today that the University's National Center for Health Behavioral Change has been awarded $400,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the development of a new campaign for HIV prevention and policy in African American communities.

"We are grateful to the Kellogg Foundation for not only awarding us the funds but also for the opportunity to push our initiatives forward," says Dr. Jay Carrington Chunn, director of MSU's National Center of Health and Behavioral Change. "The African American community is disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and it is our mission to provide a proactive response in the area of prevention."

The developing program focuses on national HIV prevention policy formulation and education, primarily addressing the African American community with particular interest in children and women. The initiative includes identifying and modeling environments that promote positive parenting when HIV is a major factor in the household, as well as disseminating information and instruction through partnerships with national and community based organizations. The new HIV prevention campaign begins June, 2009. The $400,000 grant will provide funding for the next 2 years and brings the Kellogg Foundation's total support of research and program development in the National Center for Health Behavioral Change to approximately $2 million.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930. The organization supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society.

Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a doctoral research professional institution offering more than 60 academic programs leading to bachelor's degrees as well as programs at the master's and doctoral levels. As Maryland's public urban university, Morgan serves a multi-ethnic and multi-racial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible.

For more information on Morgan State University and the National Center for Health Behavioral Change contact Clinton R. Coleman at 443-885-3022 or visit www.morgan.edu or www.nchbc.org.