Florida Atlantic Receives $21M Grant

Thursday, Jan 23, 2025

I am proud to share that Florida Atlantic has received its largest research award in University history: a $21 million, multi-year grant from the United States Department of Education Promise Neighborhoods program. As part of a place-based initiative to transform poverty-concentrated neighborhoods into communities of opportunity, this grant funds the program titled “Broward Unlimited Potential Promise Neighborhood” (Broward UP), following the lead by  Broward College, initial innovator of the project.

Broward UP will link resources, talents and community innovations to address the needs of children from cradle to career. The objective is to ensure all children who grow up in Promise Neighborhoods have access to excellent schools and community support systems, preparing them to successfully transition into college or career pathways. Over the course of the project, Broward UP expects to serve more than 14,655 students and their families in Broward County.

Florida Atlantic faculty members will participate in research-related activities to support the project goals, including oversight of critical data analytics that will steer the program toward successful outcomes. To promote child development and strengthening cradle-to-career readiness, additional research will focus on increasing mathematics and science education readiness, developing predictive models to identify potential student attendance issues, encouraging parents reading to young children, cultivating parents’ promotion of education and college, and addressing community wellness, health and unemployment challenges. Organizations to partner with Florida Atlantic on the project include the School Board of Broward County, the Children Services Council of Broward County and the Community Foundation of Broward.

The project will be led by Gregg Fields, Ph.D., principal investigator and Florida Atlantic’s vice president for research; a team of University administrators, faculty members and research analysts; and a network of community organizations. Co-principal investigators at Florida Atlantic include Nancy Romance, Ed.D., assistant vice president for STEM Research Initiatives; Michael DeDonno, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the Center of Research Excellence in the College of Education; Naelys Luna, Ph.D., founding dean and professor of the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice; Marianna Colvin, Ph.D., associate dean and associate professor in the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice; and David Simpson, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice.

Research is the cornerstone of this program’s success, and I am thankful to Dr. Fields and our co-principal investigators for their commitment to ensuring this project achieves meaningful outcomes. We look forward to working closely with our partners and communities to build a brighter future for generations to come.