UMO Receives $1.46 Million Federal Grant, Could Receive $3 Million Over Five Years

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The University of Mount Olive (UMO) has been awarded a $1,459,057 Title III grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support a five-year institutional transformation initiative focused on student success, retention, graduation, workforce preparation, artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, faculty development, and technology modernization.

The grant’s initial award covers the period October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027. Continued funding for years 2-5 with a total award of $2,999,880 is contingent upon the availability of federal appropriations and the University meeting the Department’s requirements for continued funding.

The initiative, “Rural Transformation: Building AI-Enabled Pathways to Student Success and Workforce Opportunity,” is designed to strengthen UMO’s capacity to serve students while preparing graduates for high-demand careers in an increasingly AI-driven economy. The project will strengthen, rather than replace, the personalized advising and instruction that characterize the UMO experience.

“This grant represents an investment in our students, faculty, communities, and the rural workforce we serve,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Burt Lewis. “Integrating artificial intelligence into teaching, learning, student support, and workforce development creates opportunities for UMO to create new pathways and programs leading to achievement, innovation, and economic success. We are grateful for this opportunity to ensure our students are ready to lead and serve in an AI-driven economy across the communities we serve.”

UMO will use the grant to strengthen student success, retention, graduation, and workforce preparation through an AI-enabled transformation. Planned initiatives include AI-enhanced advising and early-alert systems, 24/7 AI-supported tutoring, AI literacy integrated throughout the curriculum, career-focused advising, workforce pathways, faculty development, and expanded student programming.

The project also will support technology modernization, including smart classrooms, expanded Wi-Fi, upgraded networking infrastructure, a dedicated AI/PC laboratory, a cybersecurity laboratory, and enhanced science and agriculture learning environments. New and enhanced academic programs will address high-demand fields including cybersecurity, healthcare, agriculture, veterinary science, education, and business.

UMO’s proposal identified several challenges the project is designed to address, including first-year retention and graduation rates, declining numbers of graduates, and the additional barriers faced by many first-generation, low-income, rural, and Pell Grant-eligible students.

The project also responds to the need for stronger preparation for an AI-driven workforce, closer alignment between academic programs and labor-market needs, and more structured career planning, work-based learning, and employer connections.

“This is an exciting opportunity to strengthen how we support both our students and faculty,” said Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Kim Bryant. “By thoughtfully integrating AI into teaching, learning, and student support, we can prepare our students for success at UMO and in a rapidly changing workforce.”

Technology modernization will help UMO prepare its campus and learning environments for the future. Title III funding will support strategic enhancements to connectivity, classroom technology, and institutional data systems, including expanded Wi-Fi, upgraded networking infrastructure, smart classrooms, and technology designed to support data-informed student success. Together, these investments will strengthen the digital learning environment and provide a foundation for continued innovation across the University.

“This grant has the opportunity to be absolutely transformative for UMO,” said Director of Information Technology Bill O’Hara. “It builds a safer, more reliable network foundation upon which curricula, classroom instruction, and student experience can grow using new technologies and artificial intelligence. We hope to integrate these technologies with the strong tradition of academic excellence and spiritual focus that UMO is known for. We’re excited to begin a new era at UMO.”

By Year 5, UMO aims to increase full-time undergraduate enrollment, raise first-year retention, increase the six-year graduation rate, and increase median graduate earnings. The project also calls for expanded AI literacy and tutoring, new workforce-aligned academic programs and employer partnerships, AI training for faculty, and significant technology upgrades, including campus network improvements, reliable Wi-Fi, smart classrooms, and specialized AI, cybersecurity, agriculture, and science laboratories.

The project is designed to create lasting institutional improvements, with UMO planning to sustain the initiatives through University resources beyond the grant period.

UMO qualified for the Strengthening Institutions Program (Title III, Part A) based on its institutional eligibility and demonstrated need. The University serves a significant percentage of Pell Grant-eligible students, is accredited and in good standing with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and submitted a comprehensive development plan identifying institutional strengths, challenges, goals, and measurable outcomes.

The proposal also addressed federal priorities related to strengthening institutional capacity, advancing artificial intelligence in education, and supporting rural institutions of higher education. UMO is designated by the National Center for Education Statistics as a Rural-Distant Institution and serves rural communities in eastern North Carolina.

Through the Title III initiative, UMO seeks to strengthen its role as a rural, AI-enabled university while expanding opportunities for students and connecting education more directly to workforce needs.

By 2031, the University expects the initiative to produce measurable gains in enrollment, retention, graduation, graduate earnings, AI literacy, faculty capacity, and workforce-aligned educational opportunities while creating sustainable systems that continue beyond the grant period. More information about UMO’s Title III initiative is available at www.umo.edu/title-iii, where the University has created a dedicated site highlighting the project’s goals, priorities, and planned initiatives.

The University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values.