Biden-Harris DOT gives Florida A&M $3M to start 'Mobility Equity Research Center'
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced that it will give $2.97 million to fund the 'Mobility Equity Research Center' at Florida A&M University.
In May 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that prohibits state universities from using taxpayer funding on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programming.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced that it will give $2.97 million to fund the “Mobility Equity Research Center” at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Florida.
The center, part of the Advancing Community-Centric Equitable Systems and Solutions in Mobility (ACCESS-M) initiative, has been established at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee through a “cooperative agreement” with the DOT.
The department made the announcement on Monday in a press release.
The purpose of the Mobility Equity Research Center, according to the DOT, is to “support the Department’s goal of expanding accessibility and mobility to underserved communities, including people with disabilities, older Americans, Tribal Nations, and rural and disadvantaged communities.”
“The new Center will advance research and technologies to improve transportation and infrastructure for historically underserved communities through a three-pronged core research approach of policy, technology, and operation,” the department’s press release states.
The center at Florida A&M will have several partner institutions, including at Arizona State University, Florida State University, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Utah.
In a statement, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hailed the establishment of the center, praising the benefits it will have on “mobility and accessibility.”
“Mobility and accessibility are at the core of good transportation—and the Biden-Harris Administration is making sure that’s true for people of every age, ability, and location,” Buttigieg said in a statement. “The funding we’re announcing today will help develop solutions to improve mobility and accessibility in communities across the country.”
“Now is the time to ensure our research and technology investments are put to work to better serve the communities who need it most,” DOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Robert C. Hampshire said. “This award will drive innovation to tackle the nation’s inequities in transportation access.”
In May 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that prohibits state universities from using taxpayer funding on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programming.
“If you look at the way this has actually been implemented across the country, DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination,” DeSantis told reporters at the time. “And that has no place in our public institutions.”
Campus Reform has contacted the U.S. Department of Transportation and Florida A&M University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
