Tuskegee University to compete against other HBCUs for grant

TUSKEGEE, AL (WSFA) - Tuskegee University faculty, staff, students and alumni are participating in an online competition against other historically black colleges and universities.

Tuskegee is in the second round of the Retool Your School competition. This means that hashtags and online votes could soon translate into dollar signs.

Use of the social media hashtag, #Tuskegee_RYS18 and online votes are combined and compared against the votes received by other HBCUs that fall under the same enrollment category, or cluster. The schools with the most votes can win up to $50,000 in campus improvement grants.

"The primary reason we want to win this thing is because we want to make sure that the students know that they are our priorities and from that point we will involve them to make sure that their priorities get put in place the way they want them to," said Tuskegee University Vice Presidents of Facilities and Construction Kippy Tate.

Tuskegee University received Retool Your School grants in both 2016 and 2017.

"We involve the students, obviously, so we will be approaching  the students, alumni as well. We will compile their needs and then from there we will put our proposal in place," said Tate. "Retool Your School gives us an opportunity to enhance our facilities here on Tuskegee's campus, and helps the students understand a little bit more about how we plan to prioritize their needs."

There is no limit to the number of posts and votes that can be made in one day.

Online posts and votes can be made until April 15.

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