Stillman College Receives $1M Google Grant For Cybersecurity Scholarships

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Stillman College on Tuesday announced a $1 million contribution from Google to honor the memory of Kevin Lamar Harris.

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Harris served as executive director of the HBCU Cybersecurity Clinic at Stillman College and passed away on Oct. 5 at the age of 50.

Stillman says the gift from Google will strengthen the cybersecurity programs Harris helped establish at the college, including a merit-based scholarship for students participating in the cybersecurity clinic.

The scholarship will bear Harris’s name and Stillman says it will serve as a lasting tribute to his commitment to student success and educational advancement.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Dr. Harris, but we are honored to carry on his legacy,” Stillman College President Yolanda W. Page said. “Dr. Harris was a trailblazer in the field of cybersecurity and in establishing a cybersecurity clinic at Stillman. His work extended beyond our campus as he mentored other HBCUs in creating similar programs. We pledge to continue the work he began, and this gift from Google will help ensure that his vision lives on.”

The college was first awarded a $500,000 grant from Google’s Cybersecurity Clinics Fund in 2023 to support the development of its cybersecurity clinic, which was launched in 2022 under Harris’s leadership.

The initiative made Stillman the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to adopt the cybersecurity clinic model.

“Dr. Harris’s leadership was pivotal in Google’s decision to fund Stillman’s first cybersecurity clinic,” said Maab Ibrahim, cybersecurity lead at Google.org. “His work not only laid the foundation for this clinic, but also inspired the creation of additional cybersecurity clinics at Minority-Serving Institutions across the country. His legacy will continue to influence the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.”

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