The university is one of two new additions to the United Negro College Fund’s Project ACCLAIM (Accelerating Learning in Asset Investment Management), which launched last fall at Howard University and Morehouse College. The expansion is supported by a $10 million gift from the investment firm Adage Capital Management and philanthropists Elizabeth and Phill Gross.
As part of the program, students at FAMU will manage a $4 million investment portfolio, gaining hands-on experience in finance while helping to sustain the program through returns. The initiative is designed to blend academic instruction with real-world application, offering students mentorship, networking opportunities, and exposure to an industry often perceived as inaccessible.
Project ACCLAIM represents one of the most significant efforts in recent years to build pipelines into finance for students at HBCUs. Only about 5% of financial analysts in the U.S. are Black, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and representation in investment roles at major firms remains low.
“Thanks to another generous $10 million gift from my friends and visionary philanthropists Elizabeth and Phill Gross and Adage Capital Management, UNCF is now able to expand Project ACCLAIM,” said Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF. “We are more committed than ever to grow the talent in the financial services workforce and help close the wealth gap in our nation through this transformative initiative.”
Students like Candace Harrison, a finance major in FAMU’s School of Business and Industry, see the program as a career-launching opportunity. “Project ACCLAIM will provide me with hands-on experience in managing investments while preparing me for a career in asset management,” she said.
The program’s structure includes rigorous courses, student-managed funds, and collaboration with industry professionals. Zion Hackney, another FAMU business student, described it as “the catalyst that closes the gap between interest and action-based results.”
Inger Daniels-Hollar, assistant professor at FAMU and the program’s director at the university, emphasized the communal effort behind bringing Project ACCLAIM to campus. “Our students will build advanced investment skills, contribute to the asset management industry, spread the word about investing to our community, and pay it forward to future Rattlers,” she said.
The inclusion of FAMU and Morgan State University marks a strategic expansion of UNCF’s effort to democratize access to high-finance careers — and perhaps, in time, to help reshape the industry itself.