Congresswoman Alma Adams Celebrates FICO and Echo360 Joining HBCU Partnership Challenge
Program Joins HBCUs with Companies for Future Employment
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 24, 2024) - Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. today celebrated the additions of Echo360 and FICO to the many corporate and investment partners in the HBCU Partnership Challenge, an initiative of the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus. By creating a national dialogue around Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); educating Members of Congress and their staffs about the issues impacting them; drafting meaningful bipartisan legislation to address their needs; and increasing access and career opportunities, the HBCU Caucus works to promote and protect the interests of HBCUs and their students & graduates.
The HBCU Partnership Challenge brings major corporations into partnership with HBCUs to help close racial hiring gaps in STEM fields. Over 100 companies have joined the HBCU Partnership Challenge to date. As co-chair of the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus with French Hill (AR-02), Rep. Adams also leads the HBCU Partnership Challenge, which is regularly highlighted during annual HBCU STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) Days on Capitol Hill.
“I am excited to see Echo360 and FICO join the ranks of many other corporate and private partners in the HBCU Partnership Challenge,” said Rep. Adams. “HBCUs are a foundation of the diversity that helps make our country great. Thanks to the strategic, intentional investments of our HBCU Partnership Challenge participants, students of color will be better prepared to meet the changing needs of our workforce. They will strengthen our economy and our nation for generations to come.”
“FICO is proud to be a part of the HBCU Partnership Challenge and values our role in bringing greater inclusion to the data science workforce,” said Dr. Scott Zoldi, Chief Analytics Officer at FICO. “FICO’s work starts in the classroom. We teach students how to solve real world analytic challenges by providing tools and direct access to FICO data scientists. It is our privilege to work with students across various HBCUs as we continue to work together to build a strong representation of diversity across the data science community.”
"We are thrilled to join Rep. Adams and other leading companies across the U.S. in addressing the equity gap in education and unlocking the potential of all learners through the HBCU Partnership Challenge,” said Murad Velani, Echo360 President, and Chief Executive Officer. “The larger, HBCU-specific e3 Tech Grants will further expand the equity, engagement and evidence principles on which the program is anchored.”
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Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. represents North Carolina's 12th Congressional District (Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Cabarrus County) and serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, where she serves as ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.