HBCU C.A.R.E.S
From October 2018-September 2023, The HBCU Center for Excellence (HBCU-CFE) in Behavioral Health housed the initiative HBCU C.A.R.E.S. (Career Awareness, Recruitment, and Engagement Services). HBCU C.A.R.E.S. produced the Behavioral Health Ambassador Program—an annual program that awarded 25 graduate students, medical students, or psychiatry residents in behavioral health programs at HBCUs the opportunity to earn a stipend, network across HBCUs, and gain professional development.
Over the five year lifespan of HBCU C.A.R.E.S., its Behavioral Health Ambassador Program awarded 99 Ambassadors a total of $693,000 in stipends. The Behavioral Health Ambassadors represented 27 different HBCUs and reached over 4,600 undergraduates at 73 HBCUs across the nation with behavioral health, career-focused presentations and discussions.
HBCU C.A.R.E.S. also spawned the Undergraduate Support Task Force, a program aimed at amplifying HBCU undergraduate voices in conversations about behavioral health career readiness and graduate school related topics. The Undergraduate Support Task Force has continued to grow and flourish under the HBCU L.E.A.P. initiative. Students from Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T State University, Bennett College, Elizabeth City State University, Morris Brown College, Rust College, Voorhees University, LeMoyne-Owen College have all participated in the Task Force.
In September 2023, HBCU C.A.R.E.S. digitally published the Behavioral Health Career Exploration Guide, a resource for those interested in entering professions in counseling, psychology, psychiatry, social work, and nursing. It provides comprehensive lists of the various graduate programs at HBCUs in the five aforementioned fields. The guide can be accessed on our Resources page.
Dr. Leonissa V. Johnson, Associate Professor in the Department of Counselor Education at Clark Atlanta University, served as Director of the HBCU-CFE in Behavioral Health from 2018-2023 and created the HBCU C.A.R.E.S. initiative and Behavioral Health Ambassador Program. She currently serves as a member of the Interdisciplinary Advisory Council for HBCU L.E.A.P. and is Director Emerita of the Center.
