President Joe Biden signed on the 2022 spending package last Tuesday (March 15) which includes more than 400 earmarks. You may not be familiar with what “earmark funds” are but basically it can be understood as one of the funds for colleges. It is also called “Community Project Funding” or “Congressionally Directed Spending.”

Approved earmarks that the U.S. universities and colleges will receive starting this year can be used for buying new facilities, building new research centers, hiring talented faculty members, investing in new programs, etc.  More specifically, in the fiscal year of 2022, various higher education institutions were approved for funds to be used in the area of…

• STEM: AI, robotics, semiconductor, cybersecurity, engineering, machine learning, biotechnology, etc.
• Medical needs: COVID-related research, nursing programs, facilities and equipment, health workforce initiatives, mental health services, telehealth services and electronic health record initiatives.
• Education: early childhood, smooth transition from K-12 to post-secondary education,
• Teacher preparation: teacher residency program, computer science professional development, STEM teacher preparation

What could this mean to college students?

• It could mean that students will be able to conduct research or learn things using the newest cutting-edge technology.
• It could also mean that more research projects and possibly more funding opportunities for students

Based on the 2022 Spending Package, the following U.S. universities and colleges will receive a good amount of earmarks. Some of the examples are below. Students and agents can use the search function (Ctrl + F) to find the programs, universities and locations (states) that they would like to apply for.

• Kent State University at Tuscarawas, New Philadelphia, OH for advanced manufacturing equipment and training: $250,000
• University of Delaware, DE, for an offshore wind technician training program: $1.060.000
• The University of Rochester, Rochester, NY for youth workforce development initiative for youth, including technology and equipment: $300,000
• Augusta University Medical Center, GA, for facilities and equipment: $3,512,000
• Bradley University, IL, for nurse education and equipment: $850,000
• Central Michigan University, MI, for telehealth services, equipment, and associated information technology: $960,000
• Marquette University College of Nursing, WI, to support continuing education for clinicians: $217,000
• Marquette University School of Dentistry, WI, for facilities and equipment: $1,021,000
• Rush University, IL, to support an emerging infectious disease pilot program: $1,000,000
• Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY for community-based mental health services, including training and service delivery: $750,000
• Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA for mental health services and other supports for children who have experienced trauma: $200,000
• Marshall University, WV, for expansion of recovery services, including training and technical assistance: $4,961,000
• San Jose State University Healthy Development Clinic, San Jose, CA for behavioral health services for children and families and other supportive services: $500,000
• Texas State University, San Marcos, TX for a Community Mental Health Surveillance Collaborative to strengthen mental health infrastructure, including training, equipment, and technology: $2,000,000
• University of Illinois, Cicero, IL, for behavioral health and addiction treatment services: $1,000,000
• University of Mississippi Medical Center, MS, for expansion of mental health and substance use prevention and treatment services, including telehealth and information technology: $6,000,000
• California State University, Long Beach, CA for teacher development and student academic support: $500,000
• Columbus State University, GA, for science education and programs through the Space Science Center partnership with Muscogee County School District: $636,000
• Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI for early childhood educational services: $300,000
• Gannon University, Erie, PA for a science technology engineering and mathematics pathway program: $500,000
• Georgia College & State University, GA, for writing and communication workshops and mentoring: $385,000
• Mississippi State University, MS, for training and tuition support of education professionals: $1,000,000
• New Mexico State University, NM, for an artificial intelligence educational pipeline initiative from elementary and secondary education through postsecondary education: $750,000
• New Mexico State University, NM, for STEM teacher training and professional development: $300,000
• Texas State University, San Marcos, TX for workforce research initiative and educator professional development focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics: $1,000,000
• Adams State University, CO, for mechanical engineering laboratories, which may include the purchase of equipment: $1,100,000
• Alvernia University, Reading, PA for programming and classroom and technology upgrades: $2,000,000
• Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, AR for nursing program simulation labs, including the purchase of information technology: $675,000
• Chapman University, Orange, CA for the Earth Systems Science and Data Solutions Lab (EssDs), including equipment, scholarships, and fellowships: $1,000,000
• Clark Atlanta University, GA, for the Research, Education, and Training in Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure initiative, including the purchase of equipment: $1,000,000
• Delta State University, MS, for an aviation education program: $2,000,000
• Harris-Stowe State University, St. Louis, MO for an entrepreneurship program and center: $1,000,000
• New York University, New York, NY for a prison education program, including stipends and scholarships: $300,000
• Southern New Hampshire University, NH, for advancing postsecondary opportunities for incarcerated individuals: $170,000
• Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX for an archaeology, anthropology, and cultural research initiative and the purchase of equipment: $1,000,000
• The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH for the Race, Inclusion, and Social Equity (RAISE) Institute: $475,000
• The University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA for a robotics program, including scholarships: $1,000,000
• The University of Louisville, Louisville, KY for robotics and manufacturing equipment and software: $750,000
• The University of Maine System, ME, for a teacher preparation program: $989,000
• The University of Maine System, ME, for an early childhood education degree program: $400,000
• University of Maryland, Baltimore County, MD, for improving biotechnology degree programs, which may include the purchase of equipment: $750,000
• The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT for social work fellowship program: $750,000
• University of Vermont, VT, for a semiconductor engineering workforce development program: $2,600,000
• University of Washington, WA, for biotechnology programs, including a Center for Biotech Training and Innovation: $750,000