Jun 24, 2026

Following federal funding cuts, some Black colleges and universities are agreeing to data center partnerships as an alternative income stream, says Ashley Northington, higher-ed strategy executive at DENOR Strategic Advisors.

Fisk University, a prominent HBCU in Nashville, Tennessee, is betting on a $400 million data center to potentially revitalize its campus, but community members there are protesting the partnership.

Gerald Zaffuts/Getty Images

Big Tech is looking for land to build its AI data centers. HBCUs are looking for new funding after federal cuts.

And partnerships between them, like one announced by Fisk University, could be a mutually beneficial — or could end up being a form of "digital sharecropping," according to strategist Ashley Northington, who wrote about this for Tech Policy Press.

More on this

“The AI Economy Is Coming to HBCUs. Are They Ready for the Tradeoffs?” from Tech Policy Press

“Most new data centers in the U.S. are coming to rural areas” from Pew Research Center