NBCU Academy at City College
The City College of New York’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership is one of 17 academic partners nationally in NBCUniversal News Group’s new NBCU Academy, an innovative, multiplatform journalism training and development program for four-year university and community college students.
A partnership with historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and colleges with significant Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Island and tribal populations, NBCU Academy signals Comcast NBCUniversal and NBCU News Group’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. It will offer:
- On-campus training, education and online programming;
- A curated onsite curriculum for hands-on learning experience with world-class NBCU News Group journalists; and
- Funding for accredited journalism programs and scholarships.
The Colin Powell School and other institutions, from California to Florida, will benefit from NBCU Academy’s investment of $6.5 million in the initiative, including scholarships worth $3.5 million over the next two years. In addition to providing equipment and collaborating with professors to develop seminar courses, NBCU News Group journalists, executives and management from editorial and production teams across NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo will participate as guest lecturers to provide real-world insight and mentorship.
“Creating an inclusive culture for journalism that represents the communities we serve is at the very core of what we do,” said NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde. “Through NBCU Academy, we have the opportunity to widen our extraordinary legacy by building on-ramps for a talented generation of journalists and storytellers who—for so long—may have been overlooked.”
City College President Dr. Vincent Boudreau applauded NBCUniversal News Group for its contribution to CCNY and the Colin Powell School.
“I’m particularly thankful for their willingness to invest in CCNY’s efforts to develop civic minded leaders from a breadth of backgrounds to participate in and shape public discussions on matters of vital importance,” said Boudreau. “This support reflects NBCU News Group’s deep commitment to helping us develop an educated society, one that will benefit from and contribute to the critical engagement of public affairs.”
Click here for more details on NBCU Academy and all the academic partners.
NBCU Academy builds on the foundation of NBC University, which NBC News launched nearly a decade ago as a training program for young journalism professionals at diversity journalism conferences and conventions, including at the Asian American Journalists Association, The National Association of Black Journalists, The National Association of Hispanic Journalists, The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, Native American Journalists Association, the Online News Association and many more.
NBCU Academy is an expansion of that initiative, offering new institutional partnerships.NBCU Academy builds on the foundation of NBC University, which NBC News launched nearly a decade ago as a training program for diverse young professionals at journalism conferences and conventions, including conferences hosted by the Asian American Journalists Association, The National Association of Black Journalists, The National Association of Hispanic Journalists, The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, Native American Journalists Association, the Online News Association and many more. NBCU Academy is an expansion of that initiative, offering new institutional partnerships.
In June 2020, Comcast NBCUniversal announced a multi-year $100 million commitment to help address systemic racism and inequality. NBCU Academy is part of that pledge and focuses on providing tools, resources, and platforms for young, underrepresented voices. In July 2020, NBCU News Group announced the Fifty Percent Challenge Initiative, an aggressive action plan to turn the NBCU News Group employee base to be 50% women and 50% people of color.
About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.