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10 HBCUs That Graduate The Most Black STEM Students

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) found in 2014 that 72 percent of Black graduates with a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) doctorate from an historically Black college and university earned their undergraduate degree at an HBCU as well. The top colleges producing STEM graduates are listed below. These top universities and colleges are proof that HBCUs matter and produce high-quality graduates.

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Howard University

The Washington D.C.-based university awards the most STEM degrees — 33 percent of all STEM degrees given out by HBCUs. Howard is at the top of many major categories, based on the study. In biological and biomedical sciences, Howard ranks No. 1, awarding 45 percent of all degrees from HBCUs in the field.

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Meharry Medical College

Meharry Medical College, based in Nashville, awards 14 percent of STEM degrees primarily in the biological and biomedical sciences category.

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Amazon Expands Into Home Services Market, Solidifying Its Position as the Company That Just Keeps Growing

And to think, it all started with books.

Amazon.com Inc. announced its latest major move Monday, which will allow the e-commerce site to expand into the home services market. It’s yet another business venture that proves Amazon is the digital giant that just keeps growing.

For years, Amazon has dominated the e-commerce space and reigned supreme over its competitors whenever consumers were trying to have their online shopping needs met.

Now, the company is adding Amazon Home Services to its ever-expanding list of resources.

It’s a move that may have solidified Amazon as a true one-stop shop.

“Third party estimates show that customers spend four times more on services each year than they do on physical products,” Peter Faricy, vice president of Amazon Marketplace told Reuters. “So for us the opportunity is very big.”

Nearly 85 million Amazon shoppers purchase things from the site that require some sort of installation or servicing, Reuters reported. This often forces consumers to take on the grueling task of installing the new purchase on their own or budget additional money to find a third-party installation service that could turn out to be scam, overpriced or just provide poor quality of work.

That’s where Amazon’s new venture steps in.

Amazon Home Services now makes it possible for consumers all across the nation to purchase their brand new washer and dryer while also finding a certified professional to install the new machines.

This takes the additional work off the consumers’ hands while also ensuring better pricing and quality of service under the Amazon guarantee.

Amazon will also offer price matching to consumers who find another third-party installation or servicing company willing to complete the same job for a lower rate than what was originally quoted by Amazon.

The move will put Amazon’s new service in direct competition with companies like Angie’s List, Craigslist, and Yelp, with Amazon having a clear advantage over its new rivals.

Craigslist is still in the midst of trying to conquer years of negative publicity caused by dishonest users and scam artists on the site.

While Angie’s List and Yelp don’t have any major public relations battles to fight, they also don’t tout the same message of sheer convenience.

Amazon is offering an option that will not only attract new users but also benefit the many users who are already loyally and faithfully turning to Amazon whenever they need to make a purchase.

Yet again, Amazon proves to be the king of a successfully evolving business.

When Amazon first surfaced on the Web, it was all about selling books online. Eventually, the e-commerce site expanded to other forms of media including DVDs and CDs.

As the way people consumed media continued to change, however, it seemed like it would be nearly impossible for bookstores and media rental companies to keep up.

Book stores were forced to close their doors, and companies like Blockbusters took a major hit.

Amazon, however, adapted flawlessly.

Amazon began offering video games, apparel, furniture, toys, jewelry and anything else a person would possibly be looking to buy online.

The growth only continued as Amazon became a tech giant, releasing its collection of Kindle e-book readers and Fire Tablets.

With movie-streaming services, music download options and now a home services market, Amazon has made it clear that it is ready and willing to evolve with the rapidly changing nature of consumer demands.

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America’s Intense Focus on Boosting STEM Education Could Be Detrimental to Innovation

Is it possible to create the world’s next great social media site without understanding people’s digital behaviors? Would anyone be downloading books and magazines to tablets if there wasn’t first a community of amazing authors who made desirable, timeless content? Can anyone understand where technological advances are needed if there is not first a broader understanding of the humanities and liberal arts?

These are the types of questions that some experts are asking as the United States becomes obsessed with boosting educational efforts in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and proposing serious budget cuts and eventual elimination of more liberal subjects.

“Is it a vital interest of the state to have more anthropologists?” Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott once questioned. “I don’t think so.”

But the push to eliminate liberal programs and focus solely on STEM subjects could be extremely counterproductive and work to eliminate the years of innovation that have made America a powerhouse when it comes to technological advancements.

What many of these liberal-arts-opposing politicians fail to realize is that advances in technology do not happen in an exclusive world from the humanities and liberal arts.

While STEM subjects often lead to innovation, they are not synonymous with such.

“Innovation is not simply a technical matter but rather one of understanding how people and societies work, what they need and want,” “In Defense of a Liberal Education” author Fareed Zakaria explained in a column for The Washington Post. “America will not dominate the 21st century by making cheaper computer chips but instead by constantly reimagining how computers and other new technologies interact with human beings.”

Some of the greatest STEM success stories come from entrepreneurs who understood this definition of innovation.

From Apple’s Steve Jobs to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg’s many leaders in STEM understand that while an education in the sciences and a background in technology is important, it is not the only piece to the puzzle.

“Facebook’s innovations have a lot to do with psychology,” Zakaria explained. “Zuckerberg often pointed out that before Facebook was created, most people shielded their identities on the Internet …Facebook’s insight was that it could create a culture of real identifies, where people would voluntarily expose themselves to their friends, and this would become a transformative platform.”

It’s that sense of wondering “what if” and an imaginative mind that was able to create the vision for an online social media platform that was revolutionary in design and concept.

Zakaria also notes that while politicians may be quivering in fear about low test scores when compared to other countries, the U.S. is still a leader in innovation and that’s because it’s a leader in creative thinking.

Many countries that root educational efforts in technical studies and memorization excel on standardized tests but fall short when it comes to creating real-world innovations.

It’s because memorizing facts and theories doesn’t translate to creating new technologies, exploring scientific possibilities, imagining new ways to build and construct and unlocking the true message behind a wall of numbers and statistics.

“The dismissal of broad-based learning, however, comes from a fundamental misreading of the facts — and puts America on a dangerously narrow path for the future,” Zakaria adds. “The United States has led the world in economic dynamism, innovation and entrepreneurship thanks to exactly the kind of teaching we are now told to defenestrate. A broad general education helps foster critical thinking and creativity.”

That kind of critical thinking and creativity is what allows STEM leaders to find the truly innovative purposes for STEM efforts, such as finding the connection between 3-D printing, iconic superheroes and children’s prosthetics.

So while the nation may not be leading the way in international standardized test scores, America’s future when it comes to innovation is not nearly as bleak as the scores suggest.

In fact, it may very well be brighter than the countries that have grounded their educational achievements in such tests.

Zakaria pointed out that two other highly innovative countries, Sweden and Israel, rarely have impressive rankings when it comes to test scores.

They are both, much like the U.S., leaders in boosting real-world innovations that have revolutionized their economies.

The STEM field is a vital one and indeed many more Black children need the opportunity to get involved in such subjects. As we enter the digital age, more people will need to garner a firm foundation in STEM, but the elimination of a liberal education in the midst of this new era will only rid STEM careers of their creative, innovative potential.

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15 Black Musicians You May Not Have Known Had Their Works Preserved in The Library of Congress

Last week, Lauryn Hill’s 1998 solo album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. The album will be preserved as a piece of American history available for future generations to enjoy. Her album will join many other artists’ and political figures’ speeches and albums. Here is a list of some of the Black artists she will be remembered with.

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Sly and the Family Stone

Sly and the Family Stone’s 1969 “Stand!” was one of the most successful albums of the 1960s. The album was a mix of funk and rock that put a stamp on the distinct sound of the late ’60s and 1970s.

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Aretha Franklin

Franklin’s 1967 album “Respect” was inducted in 2002. The album features the classic single of the same name.

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De La Soul

De La Soul’s 1989 album “3 Feet High and Rising” was included in the registry in 2010. The group was prominent in the 1990s as hip-hop became more mainstream.

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Sources: Jay Z’s New Streaming Service Could Be the Biggest Threat to Apple’s Upcoming Beats Music

The world of digital streaming may be gearing up for the battle of the decade all thanks to Jay Z’s latest business venture that may come dangerously close to stepping on Apple’s toes.

Jay Z only recently purchased Aspiro, the Swedish company behind Tidal and WiMP, but it seems he’s already transformed Tidal into a top-notch competitor with the potential to overshadow Apple’s upcoming Beats streaming service.

There are certain names, certain brands and certain businesses that are deemed undefeatable in the eyes of many — hip-hop mogul Jay Z and tech giant Apple are among the names on this list.

So who wins a battle that pits both of these giants against one another?

According to the New York Post’s sources, here is how the match is stacking up so far.

In Apple’s corner we have rap icon Dr. Dre and mega-producer Jimmy Iovine who have been teaming up to overhaul Apple’s upcoming Beats music service.

In Tidal’s corner, we have hip-hop mogul and versatile entrepreneur Jay Z, international singing sensation Beyonce, self-proclaimed creative genius and rap veteran Kanye West, the leader of her own navy and Billboard chart-topper Rihanna … need we go on?

To be fair, all of the music moguls involved have a list of connections in the music and entertainment space that could trump a full encyclopedia set in length, and it’s hard to imagine any of them wouldn’t get their phone calls answered when they’re ready to talk business.

Sources claim, however, that Jay Z is possibly the only man who is actually more connected than the Beats duo.

“There’s only one person with a bigger Rolodex than Jimmy Iovine and that’s Jay Z,” one source said.

Jay Z’s advantage doesn’t just stop at connections and contacts either.

While Tidal is earning a reputation as the streaming platform “by artists, for artists,” Apple’s iTunes service has already garnered a negative reputation for playing hardball with record labels.

That type of reputation could be difficult to overcome as the company prepares to launch its Beats service.

“Jay Z’s whole approach is, they’re created by artists, supported by artists,” one anonymous label executive told the New York Post. “The more players the better.”

With Roc Nation under Jay Z’s belt as well, he has a plethora of key players in the music business that his company represents, including Kanye West and DJ DeadMau5.

It creates a possible team roster that is not only extensive in size and impressive in the overall quality of music, but also extremely diverse.

With his own loyal following of hip-hop heads, his wife’s team of pop-loving BeeHive dwellers and DJ DeadMau5’s fanbase of both progressive-house music lovers and those who are just fascinated with his funky mouse heads, Tidal already has a diverse network ready to be tapped into.

Not to mention Tidal made a huge play by securing a deal with Taylor Swift shortly after she cut ties with Spotify.

“If you are Jimmy, you’ve got to be thinking, this guy is beating me to the punch at trying to get all the artists,” another source said.

Jay Z’s rumored guest list for his New York launch event for Tidal on Monday is yet another look into the wide span of award-winning artists who are getting behind the service.

Reports revealed that Rihanna, Madonna and Coldplay are just a few of the major stars who are rumored to be attending the lavish event.

It all signifies a few powerful first blows coming out of Tidal’s corner, but since Apple’s Beats service doesn’t plan on launching until the summer it’s hard to gauge how powerful the response will be from the opposing corner.

Regardless, one thing is already certain.

As another source put it, Jay Z is clearly “disrupting Apple’s venture.”