BATON ROUGE- Southern University and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will each receive $300,000 in federal funding to assist with the losses caused by COVID-19, Senator Bill Cassidy announced Friday.

The grants given to both universities are funded by the Economic Development Agency, (EDA), which comes from the CARES Act. EDA requires that the money be spent on at least one of the following:

- Providing technical assistance to entrepreneurs, businesses and communities to assist in economic recovery efforts;

- Assisting with solutions to move courses to an online platform to support the business and entrepreneurial community;

- Supporting technology commercialization, entrepreneurship, product development and manufacturing aimed at the prevention of, preparation for, or response to the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic;

- Conducting, sharing and disseminating applied research to address challenges resulting from the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic;

- Conducting, sharing and disseminating applied research to address challenges resulting from the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic

- Assisting communities in identifying and supporting workforce talent through workforce training and other professional development programs.

“College students’ educations and careers are on hold while they cannot attend classes. It is critically important for them that universities reopen safely. This federal funding helps these universities prepare for the fall semester,” Senator Cassidy said.