Clark Atlanta University Gets A World Class Innovation Hub On Campus To Bring More High-Paying Tech Jobs To Black Grads

Despite Black people comprising 13 percent of the U.S. labor force, only 4 percent of top earners in Big Tech were Black in 2019.

To address this stark disparity, The PROPEL Center, a global tech innovation recently announced in a news release that the construction location for its new physical campus will be situated on the Clark Atlanta University campuses. Construction is set to be completed in 2023.

Per a news release, programs at PROPEL will include agricultural technologies, augmented reality, social justice, health, arts & entertainment, and hospitality, and energy.

An approximately 5.2-acre site, the location holds special historical and cultural significance to the Black community given its proximity to the original location of Friendship Baptist Church and Flipper Temple A.M.E. Church, among other local African American institutions. The location also offers PROPEL a unique opportunity to build upon the legacy of the AUC through long-term leasing with Clark Atlanta University, providing options for future development on the property.

“In just a year, PROPEL has co-developed programming with HBCUs that will inspire new curriculum and learning experiences in health, arts and entertainment and social justice,” said PROPEL Interim CEO L. Waymond Jackson, Jr in a news release. “Once complete, the PROPEL Center will build upon those efforts by providing an innovative learning space for all HBCU students. We are excited for the PROPEL Center to be built on a site that has such historical significance as the Birdcage. This one-of-a-kind project creates a great opportunity for us to honor the past while also building a transformational experience that changes the future for HBCU students.”

Founding partners of the Center include Apple and Southern Company, along with strategic partner The Walt Disney Company.

“We’re proud to support the Propel Center’s mission to empower the next generation of Black scholars, innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “Propel’s new campus in the heart of Atlanta is well-positioned to create exciting opportunities for learning and collaboration within the HBCU community.”

“This is a thrilling and pivotal next step in the construction of the PROPEL Center’s physical campus in the heart of the Atlanta University Center,” said Thomas A. Fanning, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company. “As a founding partner, we are honored for the opportunities to help forge change and make intentional investments that advance equity in education for the entire community of HBCU students.”