Oracle is coming to Nashville, expanding engagement with area HBCUs

[get these nets]

Oracle to bring 8,500 jobs, invest $1.2 billion in Nashville
Apr 14, 2021

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Oracle Corporation announced Wednesday it has requested a public hearing for approval of an Economic Impact Plan with the Metro Industrial Development Board that would bring 8,500 jobs to Nashville, according to Mayor John Cooper's office.

Approval from the IDB and Metro Council is needed to finalize Oracle’s proposal to bring 8,500 jobs and a $1.2 billion investment to Nashville by the end of 2031. The 8,500 new jobs would have an average salary of $110,000.

Oracle also said over 11,500 ancillary jobs would be created plus another 10,000 temporary jobs through construction and other support services associated with building, operating and maintaining the proposed campus.


“We are thrilled that Oracle is ready to make a billion-dollar bet on Nashville,” Mayor John Cooper said in a press release. “Oracle will bring a record number of high-paying jobs to Nashville and they will pay upfront all the city’s infrastructure costs. This is a huge win for our city. In an unprecedented deal structure for Nashville, no new debt is being issued and there is no burden on our taxpayers. Oracle’s presence will transform the East Bank, and I’m equally excited about the ways Oracle can transform education and career pipelines in Nashville.”

An agreement negotiated by local and state officials would bring Oracle Corporation to Nashville’s East Bank in a development that will transform the area and connect the tech giant to the HBCU corridor on Jefferson Street.


Oracle is interested in Nashville because it provides access to world class higher education institutions and a talented workforce, boasts a diverse populations with a vibrant culture, has a high quality of life while maintaining affordability, and is a top destination for new employees. Oracle's other hubs include Austin, TX, Redwood City, CA, Santa Monica, CA, Seattle, Denver, Orlando, FL, and Burlington, MA.

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Oracle would build a new facility on the River North Properties

Oracle is buying the land and building a $1.2 billion campus in an area that needs substantial investment. The deal would not burden the city with any additional debt. The proposal does not require any funds from Metro’s operating budget. There are no job grants or bonds required as part of the proposed deal.

In the proposal, Oracle will make a $175 million investment in public infrastructure that a city would ordinarily be required to purchase itself, according to the Mayor’s release. This includes costs such as a pump station for water and sewer, a pedestrian bridge, street widenings and environmental remediation.

Per the Economic Impact Plan, half of Oracle’s future property taxes would go to reimbursing the company for its upfront infrastructure investment, without any interest payments.

The other half of the new property tax base would benefit the city’s general operating fund, from which funds can be directed to investments in affordable housing and neighborhood infrastructure.


“The remaining property tax revenue from the project, the ‘Oracle bonus,’ can fund investments throughout the city. Creating and preserving affordable housing will be my top priority with those funds,” Cooper said.

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Oracle stands ready to partner with Nashville’s schools, both financially and with volunteer tutoring programs.

In other cities, through Oracle Academy and the Oracle Education Foundation, Oracle has a proven track record of investing in education and career training in information technology, software development and computer skills

Rendering of Oracle's campus on Nashville's East Bank.


“The students and families of Metro Nashville Public Schools will benefit from Oracle joining our community,” School Supt. Battle said in a news release. “Not only would Oracle provide high-paying, technology centered jobs for families and future graduates, but we hope to add Oracle to our great corporate partnerships who give back to our public schools through meaningful partnerships who give back to our public schools through meaningful partnerships to prepare students for high tech jobs. IT skills are a priority for MNPS and we are excited by the possibility of partnering with Oracle to bring their track record of computer science education to our students.”

Nashville has TSU, Fisk, and Meharry right next to each other, similar to the AUC in Atlanta.

Oracle has a history of partnering with HBCUs in their other locations and has been acknowledged as a Top Supporter of HBCUs. With Cooper’s encouragement, company executive have already begun to engage with leaders at Nashville’s HBCUs about similar opportunities.


https://www.wsmv.com/news/davidson_...cle_7c8ce868-4154-11eb-bf02-37cd61ef7f4c.html
“Today’s news is another affirmation that major companies want to be in our city. They want to build here and grow roots here,” Cooper said. “My job is to make sure Nashville invests in our students and graduates. It’s great that our graduates won’t need to go to the West Coast for top-tier tech jobs.”

 

[6CertsAndAMovie]

nashville got black folks
thought it was all country

 

[George's Dilemma]

Appreciate you keeping it positive around here Nets.

 

[invalid]

My brothers and I own property over by Fisk near Jefferson St. It's really the last holdout in terms of Nashville gentrification, but we've seen it coming, knowing that it would be the next up and coming neighborhood. This seals the deal.

 

[Chrishaune]

I-65 from Chicago area to Mobile is booming....



but for me Nashville is too crowded already. They need to work on some major mass transit for their residents. It's going to be hard to build enough roads around that area. Too many hills and not enough empty land to work with.

 

[get these nets]

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Oracle has a history of partnering with HBCUs in their other locations and has been acknowledged as a Top Supporter of HBCUs. With Cooper’s encouragement, company executive have already begun to engage with leaders at Nashville’s HBCUs about similar opportunities.

February 23, 2021
Tech equity: How Oracle works with HBCUs to diversify the technology industry

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University produces more Black engineers than any other college except Georgia Tech. And that’s no small feat: with a student population of less than 13,000, NC A&T is half the size of its Atlanta-based rival.

Like North Carolina A&T, other historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have thriving engineering programs. According to Oracle’s long-term partner, United Negro College Fund, the beneficiary of more than US$12 million in scholarships and in-kind giving from the company, approximately 25% of Black graduates with STEM degrees come from HBCUs, while almost 30% of Black graduates from science and engineering doctorate programs started college at an HBCU.

But this success has not translated into diversity in the tech industry. Black Americans make up 13% of the nation’s workforce, but Black employees represent only 3 to 6% of workers at leading technology companies.

To ensure a place for Black talent in the technology industry, Oracle is partnering with HBCUs to promote both the talent and demand for Black skills: first by investing in students and then by recruiting the talent from HBCUs to build a diversity of voices into the company’s workforce.

“Our partnerships with HBCUs have a strategic goal: to build deeper and more impactful long-term relationships and a pipeline of technical talent,” says Brittiney Jones, diversity and inclusion consultant at Oracle. “To do that, we need to start well before the job interview and engage students upstream in their academic programs. We are building relationships with deans, faculty, and students that will extend beyond the classroom and help shape Oracle’s future.”

Investing in talent
To create space for Black voices to influence the future of Oracle, senior leadership has made a commitment to reach young engineers before they start their careers. An important early part of this effort was to enlist influential Oracle executives as sponsors of HBCUs to ensure that curriculums align with business. The company also has representation on the board of Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering (AMIE), a coalition of corporations, government agencies, and HBCU engineering schools.

“We had to expand awareness of the valuable talent at HBCUs,” says Jones. “In the tech industry, most think of engineering schools and Ivy League Schools—places like MIT or Stanford. But there’s a whole world of engineering talent at HBCUs and they are hidden gems.”

Introduction soon evolved into specific action. For example, Oracle Executive Vice President Steve Miranda is the executive sponsor of North Carolina A&T and is sponsoring a scholarship fund for students interested in product development. And Senior Vice President, Developer Services for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Dan Gerrity is the executive sponsor to Morgan State University’s Computer Sciences and Engineering schools and works with both departments to create interdisciplinary courses, which he notes are key to understanding cloud technologies. He and his coworkers are also giving a series of undergraduate lectures, and have invested $100,000 to sponsor an Oracle Summer Coding Bootcamp on campus in 2021. Other Oracle executives oversee similar relationships with North Carolina A&T, Howard University, Southern University and A&M College, and others.

“I learned the value of diverse perspectives when I was working with scientists from different fields to develop and patent new technologies at Intellectual Ventures,” says Gerrity about the impact he expects Black talent to have on Oracle’s business. “I saw that diversity is essential for synergy, which in turn is essential for superior results.”

Jones expects that cultivating ongoing relationships at HBCUs will have a far greater impact than simply donating money, eventually culminating in coding camps and leadership development academies to support HBCU students. “There are lots of other ways our executives can nurture these programs, from sitting on advisory boards to mentoring students and faculty, giving guest lectures, and offering resources like free our cloud credits,” she says.

Gerrity says for him, Morgan State is a great fit. “They were looking for help with curriculum development, which was something I’d had experience in and wanted to explore further. I also love to teach, and I can’t think of anything more worthwhile than giving people who traditionally haven’t had a serious chance a better shot to succeed in the cloud world.”

From classrooms to careers
But helping develop Black talent is only one part of the equation. You’ve got to put that talent to work. To that end, Oracle is recruiting more heavily than ever at HBCUs, focusing on the schools where executives are building relationships and investing in programs. “North Carolina A&T and Morgan State are two of our targets,” says Terrance Lockett, Oracle’s senior diversity program manager. He adds that, like everything else, recruiting has been tricky due to COVID-19. “But we’re looking forward to being back on campuses this fall.”

One idea he hopes to launch: Coffee, Coding, and Culture, informal one-to-one sessions with interested Black students who seek a more private—and honest—dialogue. “They hear things from their peers about the tech world and Silicon Valley,” says Lockett. “They want to ask about issues like workplace microaggression and how to deal with it. If they’re going to move across the country, say from a Southern HBCU to the West Coast, they want to know what it’s going to be like.”

Data Scientist Ronald Doku joined Oracle last summer after graduating from Howard University. He too had heard the tech world can be tough on young Black candidates. “I had read about things like the ‘impostor syndrome,’ where people don’t feel like they’re good enough or that they’ll ever belong,” he says. “Before my interviews, I psyched myself up, reminding myself that I got a good education, had good experience, and that, in fact, I did belong.”

Huston-Tillotson University graduate Taleah Hawthorne and her grandparents, Drs. General and Lavon Marshall—both former deans at the HBCU.


To help candidates prepare for job interviews, Lockett created a learning resource, “How to Hack Your Oracle Interview,” which offers dos and don’ts, plus tips on what to expect. One key piece of advice: Be ready to explain—clearly and simply—the core business value of their engineering interests and to illustrate how they think and solve real-world problems. Oracle also offers a resume-writing workshop and a mentorship program for recent graduates from diverse backgrounds.

Account Executive Taleah Hawthorne came to Oracle from Huston-Tillotson University, a small, private HBCU where her grandmother was dean of student affairs and her grandfather was dean of the math department. “My Oracle recruiter was really helpful in describing not only the job but Oracle’s culture as a whole,” she said. “That helped me transition from a college of only 1,000 students to a large organization.” She tells HT students who are considering jobs in tech to reach beyond HR and speak directly with employees. “They’ll share their experiences and their challenges, so you’ll get the bigger picture.”

According to the US Department of Education, high schools with a majority of nonwhite students are far less likely to offer calculus and physics. Those that offer advanced STEM courses may be giving students their first taste of subjects such as coding, while in tech centers such as San Francisco students have access to coding at an earlier age. As a result, many minority students have to play catch-up in college, thanks to America’s public education gap.

“Evaluating certain skills can be a matter of perspective,” says Lockett. “A student who has learned a lot about computer science in three or four years of college might demonstrate the potential employers are looking for, even if that candidate has less specialized experience than someone who grew up in a tech bubble.”

Lockett tells Black students they have a chance to be agents of change. “I stress that they have a unique opportunity to do something groundbreaking—help the industry and Oracle gain from different perspectives.”

Since coming to Oracle, Doku has joined the Alliance of Black Leaders for Excellence (ABLE) , an employee resource group with a chapter in Colorado, where he plans to move this year. His chapter connected him to a mentor, with whom he has weekly meetings that he finds “extremely helpful.”

Hawthorne, who is president of the Austin ABLE chapter, says the group fosters a sense of community. “It’s good to connect with people who look like you,” she says. “They’ll give you smart advice, like the value of networking and having career conversations with hiring managers. And it’s cool to see ABLE members advance in their careers. It inspires a sense of teamwork.”

Notes Lockett, “The company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is real. I see it at all levels. People aren’t just talking about change; they’re doing the hard work it requires. I think the new generation of Black technologists can be part of something big.”

 

[...and some waffle fries]

nashville got black folks
thought it was all country

Nashville has 3 HBCUs within a mile of each other and a thriving young black professional population. Also very deep and prestigous black history.

 

[6CertsAndAMovie]

Nashville has 3 HBCUs within a mile of each other and a thriving young black professional population. Also very deep and prestigous black history.

how's rent

 

[bobbiewishbone]

how's rent

In Nashville:
Outside of Nashville:

 

[invalid]

how's rent

It's like in the top three cities in the US with the highest increase in rental prices. Nashville has become very trendy. It's moving in the direction of Austin.

 

[get these nets]

Mayor John Cooper and Fisk University Announce the Darrell S. Freeman Sr. Incubation and Innovation Center​

January 10,2023

Nashville, TENN. – On Monday, Mayor John Cooper and Fisk University announced the launch of the Darrell S. Freeman Sr. Incubation and Innovation Center. This Center will focus on supporting the next generation of startups and entrepreneurs and will be housed at Burrus Hall, which has stood at the corner of 16th Avenue N. and Meharry Blvd. since 1945. This innovative partnership will transform Burrus Hall into an incubation and innovation facility with more than 13,000 square feet of flexible space for programming and engagement. Once finished, The Freeman Center will provide wraparound services, resources, and programming for students, faculty, and members of the community as they strive to scale their businesses and test their ideas.
Metro’s COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee approved $10 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for the project to refurbish Burrus Hall on November 30, 2022, and Metro Council approved the funds unanimously on December 19, 2022.

“For too long, Nashville paid wealthy, out-of-state corporations to bring jobs here instead of creating and growing businesses by investing in local entrepreneurs already living in our city. With Burrus Hall, we’re investing in our own residents’ futures by transforming this historic building at Fisk University into an innovation and entrepreneurship center to create the next generation of Nashville’s business leaders,” said Mayor John Cooper. “Born through the work of the late, great Nashville entrepreneur and business icon Darrell Freeman, this center will be a place where emerging business owners can access resources, make connections to investors, take classes and more. As Nashville’s first public-private partnership with our oldest institution of higher learning, this initiative will help bring the opportunity of Nashville to communities that haven’t benefited from our city’s growth. This is how we build wealth for all of our residents.”

The new space will host tech boot camps, as well as programs including mentoring, classes, workshops, and events. The Freeman Center will aim to be a jumping-off point for ideas that entrepreneurs can spin out into self-sustaining businesses or for further private investment. Similar models are housed at top universities throughout the nation.
“Incubators are distinct ecosystems populated by curious and inquisitive entrepreneurs, free agents, programmers, designers, dreamers, angel investors, tinkerers, venture capitalists and this Center marks the next stage in Nashville’s remarkable development,” said Fisk University Executive Vice President Jens Frederiksen. “The late Darrell Freeman knew this and he embodied everything this center is about: determination, focus and innovation. Over the next many years, students, faculty and community founders will follow in his large footsteps and launch businesses and support neighborhood growth and development.”​

 

[get these nets]

https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/meharry-medical-college-and-oracle-collaborate-to-advance-healthcare-access-2024-10-30/

Oct 30, 2024