August 21st 2023.
A new and exciting development has recently emerged at Morehouse College, one of the leading Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the US. The Student Freedom Initiative has announced a long-term partnership with Morehouse and Stats Perform, a world leader in AI solutions for the sports industry, to create an AI in Basketball course.
This for-credit pilot-year course, which is open to students at Morehouse, Clark Atlanta University, and Spelman College who are majoring in math, physics, and engineering, will be led by Stats Perform's Chief Scientist, Dr. Patrick Lucey. In a statement, Dr. Lucey expressed his enthusiasm for the course, stating “We are excited to show the students some of the many ways AI can take basketball to new levels for teams, players, media organizations, fans, and others.”
Executive Director of the Student Freedom Initiative, Dr. Mark A. Brown, believes this is a great way to expose HBCU students to the foundational principles of AI and in turn, better position them for the in-demand jobs of the future. Dr. Alfred R. Watkins, computer science department chair at Morehouse, called the partnership “very intentional” to benefit students from these three HBCUs and to “harness specific learning and career opportunities within high-demand, high-growth sectors of the economy.”
Moreover, the partnership is made even more fitting due to the $50 million gift from Robert F. Smith, chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, who paid off the student debt for the Morehouse graduating class of 2019. As a result, students who successfully complete the AI in Basketball course will have the opportunity to apply for a limited number of internships with Stats Perform, with the potential for these internships to transition into full-time employment.
Carl Mergele, CEO of Stats Perform, recognizes the immense impact of such partnerships in fostering innovation and driving our collective potential to new heights. COO Keith B. Shoates of the Student Freedom Initiative hopes other firms will make similar long-term investments in Minority-Serving Institutions and their students. “Targeted, strategic public-private partnerships will continue to be the accelerant to transformative change,” he said.
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