On Jan. 29, the University announced it awarded $1.5 million respectively in grants to the Community College of Rhode Island and Building Futures — an apprenticeship program that supports low-income workers with finding employment.
The announcement marks Brown’s “first public step” toward fulfilling its commitment to invest $50 million in state workforce development as part of its agreement with the federal government, according to a University press release.
In April 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to freeze $510 million in federal funding to the University. In July, Brown reached a deal with the federal government that restored some of the University’s research funding and halted the Trump administration’s investigation into antisemitism allegations on campus.
In exchange, the University pledged to distribute $50 million over 10 years to promote Rhode Island workforce development. To comply with the agreement, the University plans to award more grants over the next decade through a review process led by Brown’s Office of Community Engagement.
Anchor grants of up to $1.5 million will be awarded to “established workforce development initiatives,” while innovation grants of up to $200,000 will be given to “new ideas and pioneering programs,” according to a University press release.
The grant given to CCRI will help launch Providence’s first bilingual credential program “to expand the number of early childhood educators in the Providence Public School District” by up to 180 teachers over the next three years. The college plans to enroll five cohorts of new students in the program, the press release reads.
The bilingual credential program requires no previous college experience, and the PPSD has committed to hiring graduates of the program to fulfill the city’s need for early childhood educators and teaching assistants.
The funding will also provide over $1 million in scholarships and support like language tutoring, mentorship and transportation to help eliminate barriers standing in the way of program completion for “low-income, multilingual and first-generation college students,” according to the press release.
Building Future’s $1.5 million grant will aid the organization in helping over 250 Rhode Islanders find careers through apprenticeships across fields such as healthcare and manufacturing.
The grant will specifically support “a contractor incentive program; an apprenticeship readiness program for incarcerated individuals to support community reintegration and careers in the building trades; and partnerships with private employers to create new apprenticeship programs” to expand Building Future’s workforce development across more career sectors, the press release reads.
The “contractor incentive program” will encourage contractors to hire Building Futures graduates by offering them the “equivalent to 50% of an apprentice’s wages for up to 400 hours,” according to the press release. It commits to ultimately supporting 120 apprentices into establishing their careers over the next three years.
Another new initiative backed by Brown’s grant, Building Futures Inside, will work in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Corrections to provide 120 hours of training to incarcerated individuals. After their release from state correctional institutions, inmates will be able to participate in Building Future’s pre-apprenticeship program.
The grant funding will also expand the organization’s Apprenticeship Rhode Island initiative, which is led in conjunction with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. The program “provides employers with technical assistance to create and implement registered apprenticeship programs in new industries and occupations,” the press release reads.
The University plans on awarding three more anchor grants and innovation grants each in 2027.
Roma Shah is a senior staff writer covering University Hall and higher education. She's a freshman from Morgan Hill, CA and studies Neuroscience. In her free time, she can be found doing puzzles, hiking or curled up with a book.
