PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Aug. 19, 2026) – Prairie View A&M University is giving students a new way to understand what they naturally do best and how those strengths can help them succeed in college, careers and life.
PantherStrengths, PVAMU’s name for Gallup’s CliftonStrengths program, is launching with support from a $1.4 million, two-year investment from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) in partnership with Gallup. The TMCF grant focuses on the Class of 2030, the inaugural student cohort to gain access to PantherStrengths.
PVAMU is building on that initial investment with a larger vision: to gradually expand access to the strengths-based tool across the University over the next several years. The effort supports the University’s Journey to Eminence 2035 Strategic Plan, including its goals to invest in PVAMU’s “people and performance excellence and enrich student success and holistic student development.”
PVAMU is one of four HBCUs selected to participate in the TMCF/Gallup Strengths-Based Campus Initiative, alongside Alabama A&M University, Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and Winston-Salem State University.
The selection reflects PVAMU’s “leadership within the HBCU community and a shared commitment to advancing student success through innovative, research-based practices,” according to TMCF.
“At TMCF, we believe that when HBCUs thrive, our nation thrives. Your participation in this initiative reflects our shared vision to equip every student — especially those from historically underrepresented backgrounds — with the confidence, skills, and sense of purpose needed to succeed in college and beyond,” TMCF President and CEO Dr. Harry L. Williams told PVAMU President Tomikia P. LeGrande in a letter announcing the award.
Research from Gallup shows that students who incorporate strengths-based learning into their college experiences are 2.3 times more likely to feel prepared for life after graduation and are 57% more likely to strongly agree that their institution is committed to their growth and development.
President LeGrande set the vision for the initiative earlier this year, sharing with members of her leadership team the possibility of creating a campus where students, faculty and staff can better understand and leverage their natural strengths.
“Imagine if our campus constituents could speak from a place of strength, learn how to leverage their strength to achieve long-term goals and if our leaders leaned into the talents and strengths of their employees,” she said.
Panther perspectives
Through the TMCF/Gallup Strengths-Based Campus Initiative, PVAMU has access to a dedicated CliftonStrengths platform for managing and analyzing assessment data.
Created by Gallup, the CliftonStrengths assessment was developed by psychologist and educator Dr. Don Clifton and is based on extensive interviews and decades of research on human talent and potential.
The online assessment takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes and is built around 177 paired statements. Students receive a personalized strengths profile designed to help them recognize and intentionally apply their natural talents. CliftonStrengths identifies 34 strengths across four domains: executing, influencing, strategic thinking and relationship building.
Strengths in action
The initiative is already taking root beyond the incoming class. Career Services is a key partner in the implementation, with its career coaches completing Gallup CliftonStrengths certification and incorporating strengths-based coaching into their work with students.
PVAMU’s PantherStrengths Coaches
Dr. Danielle E. Feggins, a Career Coach for Psychology, Sociology and Political Science and a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, said the opportunity to help students identify their strengths early in their college experience was a major reason she pursued certification.
“What drew me most to becoming a certified strengths coach was the impact it could have on our students,” the two-time PVAMU alumna said. “The ability for students to identify their top five strengths early in their collegiate journey provides a powerful foundation for success academically, professionally, and personally.”
For I’munique Liggens, Student Government Association president, the assessment offered a new perspective on strengths she already recognized in herself.
“When I first opened my CliftonStrengths results, I paused,” Liggens said. “My top five strengths were Positivity, Includer, Futuristic, Restorative, and Significance, and I was genuinely surprised that Positivity ranked first.”
Liggens said the results helped her recognize that optimism was one of the ways she naturally leads others.
“PantherStrengths gave me language for the leader I was already becoming,” she said. “It taught me that authentic leadership doesn’t come from trying to imitate someone else’s style, it comes from understanding your own gifts and using them intentionally.”
I’munique Liggens
Two of Liggens’ strengths, Includer and Futuristic, also resonated with her approach to student leadership.
“As SGA President, I don’t believe leadership is about standing at the front of the room; it’s about making sure no one is left standing outside of it,” Liggens said. “Includer reflects the way I lead every day. I intentionally create spaces where students from every background feel welcomed, valued, and represented because every Panther deserves to know their voice matters.”
She said the assessment also reinforced the importance of recognizing strengths in others.
“It also reminded me that leadership is not about having every strength yourself,” she said. “It’s about recognizing others’ strengths, empowering them to lead, and building teams where different talents complement one another.”
Building a strengths-based campus
Together, certified coaches and student champions are helping extend the conversation beyond a single assessment, encouraging students to understand their strengths and consider how those strengths can shape the way they learn, lead and build their futures.
Career Services is one of several campus partners involved in this semester’s implementation. University College’s First- and Second-Year Programs also play a key role, with student champions incorporating strengths into their mentoring work.
The University plans to continue expanding access to PantherStrengths across campus through a gradual rollout over the next several years.
For Liggens, the value of the assessment extends beyond college.
“College is one of the greatest seasons of self-discovery, and PantherStrengths accelerates that journey,” she said. “It doesn’t put you in a box; it gives you a mirror. It helps you recognize gifts you’ve had all along but may have never had the language to describe.”
PantherStrengths represents an investment in helping Panthers understand not only what they can accomplish but also the strengths they can draw upon to get there.
Learn more about the PantherStrengths initiative at pvamu.edu/pantherstrengths.
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