Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University are among historically Black institutions poised to receive funding for analytics and data science training through an $8.25 million investment by UnitedHealth Group.
The five-year funding initiative will help Atlanta University Center Consortium Data Science Initiative improve education in health care analytics at historically black colleges and universities.
“Many universities have refocused existing programs or developed new efforts to respond to the need for this, yet these responses are still insufficient based on projected demand,” AUCC Executive Director Todd Greene said in a statement. “The UnitedHealth Group funding will help to establish the base for this broad initiative, including hiring an accomplished director.
“Through UnitedHealth Group internships, guest lectures, faculty development opportunities and other joint efforts, our students will greatly benefit from this partnership with the world’s largest managed health care company,” Greene said.
UnitedHealth, which notes that job openings for data experts in the U.S. will exceed more than 2.7 million by next year, also emphasized that the investment is aimed at continuing to develop a 21st-century health workforce that can develop “personalized, culturally competent care, particularly in underserved communities.”
This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.
