UPDATE: 8:15 p.m. IU to partner with nine historically black colleges

To further diversify IU, President Adam Herbert announced on Thursday a plan to partner with nine historically black universities and to offer a select group of these university’s graduates fellowships to conduct graduate studies at IU.\nThe Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Initiative will provide a limited number of these university’s students each year the chance further graduate studies at IU. Announced at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis, the initiative will cater to students whose concentrations relate to science, technology, engineering or mathematics.\nBeginning next fall, 10 masters and six Ph.D. students will be accepted into the program. Along with receiving free tuition, these students will receive a $4,000 stipend along with room and board each year. To fund the STEM Initiative, Herbert announced that a $2 million endowment fund would be created.\n- For more on this story see Friday's IDS.