Central State Partners With Apple

An exciting new chapter began at Central State University when Apple, Inc. selected the school to be part of its national Community Education Initiative. The partnership makes Central State a technology hub for the Midwest. 

The initiative is part of Apple’s $100 million racial equality and justice initiative. It supports education, economic opportunities, and criminal justice reform for communities of color. And the partnership is key to Central State’s commitment to innovation.   

Central State is “pleased to bring coding and workforce development opportunities to the students, faculty, staff and the community.” — Dr. Jack Thomas, President   

Coding and Creativity 

One of the Apple partnership goals is to give students of all majors an opportunity to get some experience in coding with SWIFT, which is an Apple programming language. Central State is building out an IOS design lab so that students, faculty, and staff from across campus can come in, learn, and create using IOS products.   

Another goal of the program is to create STEM education partnerships with local communities and high schools. 

A Leader Among HBCUs 

This partnership was piloted at Tennessee State University, and Central State was in the second group of institutions invited to be part of it. Today, more than 24 schools are participating.  

Central State recently took part in a virtual summit with 300 HBCU educators from around the country. Leaders shared best practices and discussed strategies for workforce development and community partnering. The participants also compared notes on teaching coding to students of all ages and backgrounds. 

With new initiatives like this one, CSU is showing that “innovation” means identifying opportunities and delving into new horizons.