Head of Talent Acquisition

Howard University teams up with industry experts to launch transformative applied AI course. June 1, 2026 CodePath, Howard University and Thurgood Marshall College Fund The following is adapted from a joint announcement with Howard and Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Read the original press release here. In a new collaboration between CodePath, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and Howard University, Howard's Intro to Artificial Intelligence course reimagines preparation for leading-edge engineering roles through hands-on, industry-aligned training. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Howard University today announced a transformative redesign of its trailblazing Intro to Artificial Intelligence course, which has pioneered the preparation of students for emerging careers in AI-powered engineering for more than a decade. Developed in partnership with CodePath and supported by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the redesigned course uses methodology underscored by recent CodePath data to introduce students to the fundamentals of AI-assisted software development and provide hands-on experience for its application in real-world workflows that are ubiquitous in entry-level roles. According to a survey released by CodePath last month, employers' top readiness signals are internship experience, technical interview performance, and side projects or portfolios. "Howard has a long history of preparing students to not just succeed in today's jobs, but to become leaders in the economy of tomorrow," said Kimberly L. Jones, Ph.D., dean of the College of Engineering and Architecture at Howard University. "Building on many years of introducing students to traditional AI concepts, this course has been reimagined to reflect AI's ongoing evolution and respond to what our students are asking for, and what employers now expect. By embedding applied AI directly into the curriculum, students who have successfully completed the class have both the foundational knowledge and the practical experience to lead in an AI-driven world of work." Employers are increasingly in search of and willing to pay a premium for workers with the skills to apply AI on the job. Businesses also place particular value on hands-on experience. Built to respond to this growing demand, Howard's Intro to Artificial Intelligence course is collaboratively taught by Howard faculty and an instructor from CodePath's industry-connected faculty network. It focuses on topics ranging from data structures to AI literacy and agentic workflows. By the end of the course, students will complete a portfolio-ready project demonstrating their ability to apply AI responsibly and effectively within real software development contexts. Intro to Artificial Intelligence represents the first time this course, originally developed by CodePath, is being offered for academic credit. "As AI reshapes the world of work, employers' expectations are only going up. Colleges have a unique opportunity to respond to that shift by equipping their students with the skills the fast-changing tech industry needs," said Chris Coleman, chief product officer at CodePath. "We're honored to collaborate with Howard and TMCF on this course, and excited to help Howard students get the training and practical experience that can help them navigate an increasingly AI-driven labor market." The course was launched with support from the HBCU Transformation Project, spearheaded by TMCF and other leading education organizations, which aims to expand high-quality, industry-aligned programs for students across HBCUs. "Our work is rooted in the idea that HBCUs are not only equipping students for coursework but also building skills vital to succeeding and leading in the workplace," said Dr. Harry L. Williams, TMCF president and CEO. "Through programs like this and professional development such as what our Innocation & Partnership arm provides, our HBCUs are elevating excellence and creating pathways to opportunity in the fields that are defining the economy of the future." Howard, CodePath, and TMCF will continue collaborating to identify new opportunities for courses or programs that align with the needs of the fast-changing tech industry. ### Contacts (Media Only): Howard University Lydia Sermons or Carol Wilkerson Email: [email protected] Phone: 202-288-7071 CodePath [email protected] Thurgood Marshall College Fund Dr. Clara Ross Stamps Email: [email protected] Phone: 601-415-3393 About Howard University Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The university operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu. About CodePath CodePath is a nonprofit dedicated to reprogramming higher education to create the first AI-native generation of engineers, CTOs, and founders. It delivers industry-vetted courses and career support centered on the needs of first-generation and low-income students. Students train with senior engineers, intern at top companies, and rise together to become the tech leaders of tomorrow. CodePath serves over 30,000 students at more than 700 colleges and universities across the country. Visit www.codepath.org for more. About the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is the nation's largest organization exclusively representing the Black college community. TMCF member schools include the publicly supported historically Black colleges and universities, predominantly Black institutions and historically Black community colleges, enrolling nearly 80% of all students attending Black colleges and universities. Through scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives, innovative programs and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the K-12 and higher education space. The organization is also the source of top employers seeking top talent for competitive internships and good jobs. TMCF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization. For more information about TMCF, visit www.tmcf.org.

The Work of Opportunity in the Age of AI. A national imperative: ensuring and expanding opportunity at scale. Friends and colleagues, The speed with which AI is remaking its society is breathtaking - and so is the scale of change it's expected to bring. Many predict that it will replace millions of jobs, including the middle-class jobs once seen as stable and reliably rewarding. The implications of these predictions for Americans are profound. In a keynote address I delivered at the ASU+GSV Summit, a global education and workforce gathering, I asked: although no one knows what will happen, what would you do if you thought there was a decent chance those predictions would come true? Or, more accurately, what would you do if you believed that AI would throw gas on a fire that's already alight? The fact is, a generation-long crisis in the decline of mobility and the cost of a decent life has already left millions of Americans scrambling and frustrated. AI could make things far worse. It sounds dark. But I am fundamentally an optimist, a believer in the ability of this country to solve confounding problems. My belief comes not from blind faith, but from a recognition of its track record of overcoming dark times and how much Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. already know about creating opportunity and increasing mobility. Research has made it clear that young people's trajectories have so much more to do with the environments, experiences, and relationships Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. provide them - their contexts - than Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. has ever fully acknowledged. When leaders put that knowledge to work, it has the power to change lives in specific communities and across the country. That work, which Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. is proud to support at Blue Meridian Partners, has never mattered more than in this moment of extraordinary challenge. The scale of the task is great, but so are the tasks Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. has taken on in this country before. Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. rebuilt this country from the Depression in the 1930s, and other countries through the Marshall Plan after World War II. As I argue in the talk, perhaps Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. need a "Moonshot" for this moment - one that would build a more inclusive economy, lower the cost of thriving, reinvent the safety net, and bring Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. together to make the kind of change Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. know is possible. Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. has choices before Blue Meridian Partners, Inc. - and the power to make the right ones. With faith and resolve, Jim Shelton, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Meridian Partners Investee highlights. CodePath is partnering with Anthropic to prepare young people for an AI-enabled future - redesigning computer science education and launching an open-source Knowledge Network on how AI is shaping education and employment pathways. Learn more. Braven, in partnership with the University of North Texas, is launching a new "career accelerator" course that equips students with the skills, networks, and experience needed to land strong first jobs in business, technology, and communications. Learn more.

Anthropic has partnered with computer science education organisation CodePath to provide Claude and Claude Code to over 20,000 students at community colleges, state schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. More than 40 per cent of CodePath students come from families earning less than $50,000 annually. CodePath will integrate Claude into programming courses to give students experience building projects with AI tools and contributing to open source projects. The company claims pilot testing has shown positive results, with students reporting the tool helped them learn new programming languages. The partnership follows similar education initiatives by OpenAI, Meta and Google, as AI companies seek to build brand loyalty amongst students. Anthropic says it will collaborate with CodePath on research into how AI is changing education and economic opportunities in computing.