New Fund Created To Help Black And Indigenous Students Get Into Gaming And Tech

A new fund has been established to support Black and indigenous students trying to break into game development and the technology space at large. USC Games has announced the Gerald A. Lawson Endowment Fund for Black and Indigenous Students, and Grand Theft Auto parent company Take-Two Interactive is one of its earliest supporters.

In a press release, USC Games said Take-Two made a "significant seed contribution" to the fund, though a specific dollar amount was not disclosed.

"The fund will provide student support for Black and Indigenous students who wish to pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees in game design or computer science from USC's prestigious program," the school said in a statement.

The fund will receive financial backing from other game and technology companies, along with donors, USC Games said. The overall goal is to eventually extend into the areas of diversity and equity, which could include salary support for Black and indigenous faculty at USC, and also to help pay for labs and projects.

Students who receive funding from the program will be known as Lawson Scholars.

USC Interactive Media & Games professor Jim Huntley, who spearheaded the creation of the fund, said he feels humbled to be able to announce the fund after the verdict in the George Floyd murder case in Minneapolis. Huntley has been working on establishing the fund since Summer 2020 alongside Danny Bilson, the former president of THQ who is currently the chair for the Interactive Media & Games Division at USC.

As for Take-Two, CEO Strauss Zelnick said, "We are confident that our shared vision for enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in our industry will be realized through the establishment of this fund and helping to enable students from Black and indigenous communities to pursue their passions and creative futures in USC's renowned program."

He added: "We believe firmly that one way to ensure diversity and inclusion in both our Company and industry, is to actively invest in developing diverse voices among those who create authentic, captivating, and engaging entertainment experiences that are reflective of the audiences that enjoy them."

Gerald "Jerry" Lawson was a video game pioneer who is credited with inventing interchangeable ROM cartridges that were used in the early home console, the Fairchild Channel F, which came before the Atari 2600 . Lawson was one of the first Black engineers in the gaming business and he worked on the game Demolition Derby for arcades. He was also part of the "Homebrew Computer Club," whose ranks included Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

Lawson passed away in April 2011. He was later honored as a gaming pioneer by the Interactive Game Developers Association and he also received the Gaming Heroes award at the Independent Games Festival. Some of his creations are on display at the World Video Game Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York. Lawson was also featured in the recent Netflix documentary about video games, High Score, with his wife and two children sharing his story.