In honor of Black History Month, the American Society for Nutrition celebrates and honors the many African Americans who have contributed to the nutrition science field.
HBCUs – Historically Black Colleges and Universities – have a rich history and are a source of accomplishment and great pride for the African American community as well as the entire nation, tying in well to the 2025 Black History Theme “African Americans and Labor.” This February, ASN aims to highlight HBCUs and their role in advancing health equity, education, and research.
The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as:
“…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.”
One of the most well-known HBCUs, Howard University in Washington, D.C., has been home to many trailblazers in the nutrition field. Among them is Dr. Flemmie Pansy Kittrell, who led the university’s Home Economics department from 1944 to 1971. Through an experimental nursery on campus, she conducted a groundbreaking study that later served as a model for Head Start, the federal program that provides early childhood education, health, and nutrition services to children from low-income families.
There are more than 100 accredited HBCUs; ASN has identified the following institutions with programs related to nutrition:
- Alabama A&M University
- Alcorn State University
- Bethune-Cookman University
- Delaware State University
- Florida A&M University
- Fort Valley State University
- Howard University
- Kentucky State University
- Lane College
- Mississippi Valley State University
- Morgan State University
- Norfolk State University
- North Carolina A&T State University
- North Carolina Central University
- Prairie View A&M University
- South Carolina State University
- Southern University and A&M College
- Tennessee State University
- Texas Southern University
- Tuskegee University
- University of Maryland, Eastern Shore
- University of the District of Columbia
- Virginia State University
- West Virginia State University
If your institution offers a program in nutrition or a related field and is not included on our list, we’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to [email protected] so we can add it and, if applicable, feature it on our Careers in Nutrition program page.
Additionally, if your HBCU is not currently a member of the Academic Nutrition Departments and Programs (ANDP) community, we invite you to learn more about getting involved. As a community within ASN, ANDP brings together directors of undergraduate and graduate nutrition programs across the United States. Their focus is on advancing nutrition education, sharing best practices, shaping policy, and supporting student recruitment. We welcome engagement from HBCUs and all Minority Serving Institutions.
Further Reading:
The Origins of Black History Month
What is an HBCU? Everything you need to know about historically Black colleges or universities
Minority Serving Institutions Program
