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WSSU, N.C. A&T To Provide Free Textbooks To Undergraduates

Image courtesy of Winston-Salem State University.

Several Triad historically Black colleges and universities will be using federal funding to offer free textbooks to all undergraduate students in coming semesters.

Winston-Salem State University announced on Monday it will cover the cost of printed and digital course materials for undergraduate students this fall. It will also offer a $500 book credit to all graduate students.

University spokesperson Haley Gingles says the school will cover the expenses with a portion of its federal COVID-19 relief funding.

WSSU has partnered with a Barnes & Noble College program which ensures delivery of the materials to students on or before the first day of class.

In a news release, WSSU Chancellor Elwood Robinson said the program is “a game changer for many of our families by eliminating a significant educational expense.” The school estimates it amounts to an average savings of about $650 per student.

N.C. A&T State University announced last month it will cover the cost of instructional materials for undergraduates for the next two years, also using funding from the federal CARES program.

According to an A&T news release, a national survey shows that 65 percent of college students didn't purchase textbooks last year due to economic hardships exacerbated by the pandemic.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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