June 04, 2025

Administration

By Alonda Thomas

Florida A&M University Sign

Florida A&M University Partners with Getty Images to Preserve and License University’s Rich Visual History

Tallahassee, Fla. – To further promote and protect the legacy of Florida A&M University (FAMU), the University has entered into a new content licensing partnership with Getty Images, a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace. As part of Getty Images’ HBCU Grants Program, FAMU’s content, both contemporary and archival, will become accessible for a global audience via Getty Images’ platform in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Collection. The collaboration will also provide FAMU students with mentorship opportunities to work alongside Getty Images’ world-class photographers and editorial staff at upcoming industry events.

"The Florida A&M University Office of Communications is proud to partner with Getty Images to preserve the historic beauty and rich legacy of the college experience through the images of our students, faculty and campus community,” says Alonda Thomas, Ph.D., vice president and chief marketing & communications officer. “This collaboration is already bearing fruit, thanks to Getty Images’ added commitment to supporting FAMU students with interests in photography and archival preservation. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to a long and impactful relationship."

Moments of celebration and joy from the FAMU 2025 Spring Commencement exercises are among the first images from the institution that are featured in Getty Images’ HBCU Collection. FAMU will retain all copyrights of the photos and videos added to the collection, with the licensing fees supporting the HBCU community. Getty Images’ HBCU Grants Program was established in 2021 to support the invaluable visual histories of all HBCUs by increasing the awareness, access and visibility of rarely seen photography.

“It is an honor to represent FAMU’s visual history past, present and future,” says Cassandra Illidge, vice president of global partnerships and executive director of the HBCU Grants Program at Getty Images. “The program has evolved since inception, to not only preserve the historical archives of HBCUs, but to ensure that stories on campus today are shared with a global audience. It is equally important to collaborate with FAMU and our other HBCU partners to provide opportunities for mentorship, which will inspire the next generation of visual storytellers.”

Discover and explore FAMU’s content on gettyimages.com, here.

To learn more about the Getty Images’ HBCU Grants Program, go to: https://www.gettyimages.com/corporate-responsibility/hbcu-partnership


About Florida A&M University

Founded October 3, 1887, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) is a public, historically Black university located in Tallahassee, Florida. What distinguishes FAMU from other universities is its legacy of providing access to a high-quality, affordable education with programs and services that guide students toward successfully achieving their dreams.

FAMU is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

In addition to the main Tallahassee campus, FAMU has several satellite campuses across Florida. These include the College of Law in Orlando and the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health, which has sites in Crestview, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Miami.


About Getty Images

Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) is a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace that offers a full range of content solutions to meet the needs of any customer around the globe, no matter their size. Through its Getty Images, iStock and Unsplash brands, websites and APIs, Getty Images serves customers in almost every country in the world and is the first-place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful visual content from the world’s best photographers and videographers. Getty Images works with almost 600,000 content creators and more than 350 content partners to deliver this powerful and comprehensive content. Each year Getty Images covers more than 160,000 news, sport and entertainment events providing depth and breadth of coverage that is unmatched. Getty Images maintains one of the largest and best privately-owned photographic archives in the world with millions of images dating back to the beginning of photography.

Through its best-in-class creative library and Custom Content solutions, Getty Images helps customers elevate their creativity and entire end‑to‑end creative process to find the right visual for any need. With the adoption and distribution of generative AI technologies and tools trained on permissioned content that include indemnification and perpetual, worldwide usage rights, Getty Images and iStock customers can use text to image generation to ideate and create commercially safe compelling visuals, further expanding Getty Images capabilities to deliver exactly what customers are looking for.

For company news and announcements, visit our Newsroom.


Media Contact:
Alonda Thomas
alonda.thomas@famu.edu

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