Duke Energy offers scholarships for next generation nuclear engineers

Listen to this article

Duke Energy seeks to diversify the talent pipeline for nuclear engineering through a grant program at South Carolina State University, a historically Black university.

The $150,000 grant will be used by the school as a scholarship for 15 nuclear engineering students over a three-year period.

“We are very proud of our Nuclear Engineering Program, which is the only undergraduate program of its kind in South Carolina,” South Carolina State University Interim President Alexander Conyers said in a news release. “We appreciate Duke Energy, one of the nation’s premier energy providers, for supporting our program and helping create a diverse pipeline of talent for the nuclear workforce of the 21st century.

Strengthening relationships and recruiting strategy at historically Black colleges and universities has been a priority for the utility’s talent acquisition team since 2018, when Duke Energy was the first utility to sign the HBCU Partnership Challenge.

Congress created the challenge to increase engagement between corporations and HBCUs. At the time, 13 companies had signed, including Intel, Lyft and Amazon. Now, more than 40 are committed.

“South Carolina State University has a significant reputation as a leader in building the high-quality workforce our state and nation need today and in years to come,” Mike Callahan, Duke Energy’s South Carolina state president said in a statement. “We are excited about the future of the clean energy workforce and what these scholars will achieve.”