Italian fashion house Gucci has launched a $1.5 million U.S. university scholarship program that is aimed at students who are “traditionally underrepresented” in the fashion industry. The program, which is set to run four years, is part of Gucci’s multi-pronged effort to boost diversity following the uproar earlier this year over a $890 sweater that resembled blackface. The Gucci Changemakers initiative was announced in March with the aim of supporting “industry change and to foster unity through community action.”

The scholarships for students attending four-year universities will consider ethnic and gender diversity. Gucci said special consideration would be given to students attending black colleges or universities, and living in 12 North American cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto and Washington, D.C.