SU Ag Center & the College of Ag receive $50,000 from McBride Sisters Collection Wines

Recently, the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center and the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences were afforded the opportunity to be a recipient of the McBride Sisters Collection YES SHE CAN fund in the amount of $50,000. 

The fund invests in the professional advancement and career growth of high-potential, professional women, with a particular focus on women of color. Its mission is to close the gender and race gap in leadership positions in wine & spirits, hospitality, and finance industries by providing professional development scholarships to emerging women leaders.

“This is the first partnership between the McBride Sisters Collection Wines and an HBCU,” said Agnes Uboma, Chief Impact Officer for the McBride Sisters Collection Wines.

The funds provided by the SHE CAN fund will be utilized for students and faculty within the SU Ag Center and College of Ag to gain invaluable experiential learning experiences and professional development in the fields of viticulture, (which is the cultivation of grapevines grown for producing wine) and enology (which is the study of wine and wine-making). All of this is in support of increasing the workforce pipeline of minority professionals entering the wine-producing industry.

“The Plant and Soil Sciences team inclusive of Drs. LaShunda Hodges, Jacqueline McComb, Crystal Vance, and Devaiah Kambiranda along with some of our student research assistants came together and made this possible,” said Dr. Renita Marshall, SU Ag Center Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Services/Associate Dean of the SU College of Ag.

The fun, fab and eco-friendly SHE CAN canned wine collection and its related SHE CAN Professional Development Fund, are inspired by the endless pursuit of all women who are making their dreams a reality and breaking barriers daily.

Robin and Andréa, sisters who had been raised across the world from one another, both had a love affair with wine that was planted within them from an early age while growing up in two of the world’s most iconic wine-growing regions.

In 2005, the sisters found themselves together in California, fueled by a shared passion for all things wine, wine-making, and a desire to shake up the industry with a blend of old-world elegance and new-world finesse. It was then that the McBride Sisters Collection was born.

The brand has grown into what is not only the largest Black-owned wine company in the United States but one of the most inclusive, accessible, socially aware, and sustainable brands on the market. 

For additional information, contact Dr. Renita Marshall at renita_marshall@suagcenter.com.