Where are the endowments funded by the H.B.C.U.’s alumni?
2
What if I told you that 3% of your overall investment would yield 50%-80% of your positive returns? You would make that investment, right? I did and therefore consider myself extremely lucky. I chose a great HBCU (Hampton) and like many of my fellow HBCU alumni I went on to receive a highly-competitive advanced degree as well. To me and my HBCU brethren, our path to success was not an unlikely exception but rather pretty normal and expected.
Both the public and private sectors in this nation are rightfully hellbent on diversity recruitment and retention initiatives. Investing in HBCUs can serve as an accelerant to that effort. Many of these institutions have thrived because of strong fiscal and strategic management as well as natural recruitment through multi-generational families who bond over the shared experience. Some have not been so lucky against a variety of controllable and uncontrollable headwinds.
But the broad brushstroke often used to describe the HBCU model as troubled and outdated further perpetuates a lack of social and especially financial support. Not all African American students will choose to matriculate at one of these institutions and that is ok. However, those that do should be better supported by investment into these incredible places of higher learning. So, the next time we choose to pour billions into the next WeWork, let’s also support a model that absolutely has worked in creating diverse and incredibly capable leaders for the last 150 years.
7
But it should not be forgotten that one of the things that helped transfer black citizens to the middle class was all of the money Lyndon Johnson poured into the inner cities for the purpose of moving black citizens into the middle class.
It was impressive to watch if you had a chance to get up close to it.
1
As a young, closeted, gay man I was terrified of going to an HBCU because I feared the virulent anti-gay attitudes I perceived as prevalent in Black culture at the time (largely due to the outsized influence of a virulently homophobic Black church). Now that institutions like Howard and others have become safer places for non-strictly-heterosexual people to learn without hiding it will be interesting to see if young people in my position are more willing to engage with a culture which a large number of us have feared and fled.
9
My dad was a faculty member at an HBCU, two of my sisters and my daughter graduated from an HBCU, and I've taught writing classes at two HBCUs. Many of my students were poor kids who were the first in their families to attend college. The nurturing atmosphere for those students at HBCUs can't be duplicated on other campuses. They are still vitally necessary.
43
If you are an alumnus of a PWI and donate to your alma mater, consider matching your own donation to your alma mater with one to an HBCU.
6
Dude, some of y’all in these comments....the white supremacy has just jumped all the way out!
3
@ReginaGiddens And these are the moderated comments!
1
Anyone stating that HBCUs are no longer needed is being disingenuous about racism in the US and how it continues to effect the success of Black Americans. As an HBCU alum, that attended predominantly white, private schools K-12, my HBCU experience was a breath of fresh air. If you’ve never been marginalized, you can’t understand what it’s like to live in a world where you are underrepresented and treated as an “other” every single day of your life. As long as racism and discrimination exist in this country, HBCUs are needed.
33
@OT and they don’t want to know about what black students have to put up with when they do attend PWIs *insert side eye*
4
Every group has a right to experience the power of being in the MAJORITY and to be taught and led by people who look like themselves. HBCUs are one of the few places in America (Black churches, and Black-owned businesses are the others), where Black people can control the mission, award lucrative contracts, and dominate the executive and middle-managment ranks for the benefit of the Black community. They teach you that you do not need to always be Robin to some white person's Batman -- you can indeed by the star or the boss. They teach you the TRUTH about how the ancient people of KMT and later the Moors -- all people who would be called Black today -- were the major sources of knowledge for the so-called "great" ancient European societies.
Indeed, in the absence of a true American homeland where African Americans can feel that they are free, valued, wanted, HBCUs are the closest proxies for African Americans to experience a place of their own. They must ALWAYS exist!
4
Trump praising HBCUs immediately brings to mind that Richard Prior bit where he's playing a televangelist trying to get money out of a white audience by supporting the back to Africa movement.
2
Giving lots of federal money to HBCUs sounds like a good place to further a nationwide discussion on Reparations.
2
HBCUs are an important part of our heritage. Historically, their graduates have formed the basis for a vibrant and thriving Black middle class, especially when segregation was rampant in colleges and universities. It is critical that we do whatever it takes to make them fiscally sound and sustainable. However, we must not allow ourselves to fall prey to the belief that addressing their economic plight removes the need to make a college education more affordable for Black college students. Let us not lose sight of the fact that we are at a point where about 80% of Black college students do not attend HBCUs according to the United Negro College Fund.
1
"You don't know what you have until it's gone."
For the historical record in this conversation, one must reject the accusation of alleged HBCU “self-segregation” from the U.S. Education bureaucrats, or the Congressional aides of Lamar Alexander’s scheme to destroy the HBCUs.
White racism was once so universally pervasive that most African Americans, under Jim Crow laws, had no choice but to educate themselves at institutions of their own making. And many of the institutions, if not all of the oldest, prominent ones - Hampton Institute, Tuskegee, Howard, Cheney, Dillard, Alabama State, St. Augustine, and later Xavier of New Orleans,to mention a few - welcomed all races. The schools that Booker T. Washington founded were “for Negroes and Indians,” or for “Colored and Indians.” As late as the 1950s, the sign on Mother Katherine Drexel’s “Holy Providence” boarding school entrance (1663 Bristol Pike, Cornwell Heights, Bensalem, Bucks County, PA) was “A school for Colored and Indian Children,” the “Colored” meaning Chinese and Mexican children enrolled there as well as alumni like basketball star Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and CBS reporter Ed Bradley.
African American colleges and universities began out of the observance of white laws that outlawed attendance of African Americans to nearly all educational institutions for whites. American billionaires like Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, as well as the NFL/NBA millionaires, ought to follow billionaire Robert Smith’s example for Morehouse grads.
2
You need your own. Usually it takes ownership before some will protect nurture, and enhance the growth of seedlings. We have learned how easily it is to separate and divide people through the Trump administration. This happens during good times; therefore, we know that in bad times it will be even easier to divide. The little gains that Blacks have made stokes White resentment, can Blacks really let primarily white organizations determine their progress.
3
14.3% is hardly a "mild" increase in funding. Trump has supported minority college funds for decades. How about some honesty? And gratitude.
3
@Tina: I’d love to see trump’s actual financial contribution to HBCUs or anything else. He seems to contribute only when he’s actually caught and called out on it. My daughter graduated from NCCU in Durham, NC. The school is terribly short handed re: funds and yet provided her with a good education; her resulting first job is far superior to anything I expected with regard to pay or status.
2
The article and many of the commenters should do more research before espousing such drivel. There are 107 institutions designated as HBCUs - 3 are closed. A handful are having financial trouble. Why we continue to focus on these 100 or so colleges when there are over 4000 institutions of higher education in the US is fascinating to me. All types of institutions of Higher Education close annually, for-profit colleges have the highest enrollment of Black students (and have the lowest graduation-rate), and increase student debt the greatest...but the focus is still to question HBCUs? Where does the author mention she’s actually spoken to HBCUs to ask them what they are doing to compete in our increasingly anti-Black society? This is an opinion piece with a few links to data that many will read as factual. Then to question the need now that Black students can attend PWIs is absurd. HBCUs have always welcomed ALL students, so why not attend them rather than attending a PWI who now needs minority enrollment? It is because woefully uninformed people will remain so. I have my doctoral degree in Higher Education and have studied all forms of higher education. I am an expert. I conclude this article and most commenters are uninformed and recommend you read a book titled, “How to be anti-racist”.
4
It seems like there are parallels to what also happened with the many Catholic institutions that were founded when many mainstream institutions were off-limits for Catholic strivers in the 19th and into the first half of the 20th century. Major institutions like Georgetown, BC, Notre Dame, and others have adapted, expanded, and thrived as they have become more diverse. At the same time, many smaller schools such as those founded just to teach women to be teachers, nurses, (or wives) have often disappeared as their market also disappeared. It may well be that Howard, Morehouse, Meharry, and some other big time elite HBCUs survive, thrive, adapt and possibly strengthen their positions while some smaller or more niche type HBCUs don't survive (e.g. we don't have as many farmers of any race any more, so a black farmer school may not be viable when there are so few looking for that training). On a final note, the very idea that any state continues to perpetuate the idea of a state-funded HBCU is wrong in so many ways. They should acknowledge the history, but should be striving to make that school as strong as possible and to use its location and resources to best serve the population and the state. (e.g. Maryland should be looking to make Morgan State a star and key resource for improving the economy of Baltimore regardless of the students' backgrounds. It shoud consider whether some programs might be better offered there than at College Park for example.)
3
It might be time for a consolidation of sorts, for HBCU schools that overlap in educational opportunities, or those within close proximity of another. The premise is still good one; but it should be tweaked to fit today’s culture and diversity objectives. While I personally did not attend a HBCU, I have friends who did so decades ago, and they still speak highly of their experience. Today, they would be considered successful alums who benefited and who have reached middle class status. (I don’t know if they’re current or past donors, but I may repost this article as an FYI to put the need into the universe!) Earlier this year, you may recall the graduation “gift” of a loan payoff to students from billionaire Robert Smith, and most recently a monetary donation from Oprah. While their donations are indeed phenomenal, its time for the “rich” rappers, sports icons and business moguls — those with millions of young, African American “followers” to step up as well. And they should not have to be HBCU alums in order to want to help stabilize the future of these schools, and the black middle class.
3
One of the key issues with HBCUs is how little their alumni donate. Because of this the HBCUs have small endowments to draw from. This also effects their rankings from a "prestige" point of view. Many of the school ranking lists take size of endowment into account. Relying solely on government funding isn't going to get the job done. If you went to a HBCU, value the education you receive, and want others to be able to receive that same education in the future, you should happily write your annual check to your alma mater.
8
Segregation must end. Students need a diverse environment to get a proper education in our diverse society. Right?
38
@Jon Yes, I agree with your statement but only for Non-black students.
1
@Jon No. Just like women’s colleges serve a purpose, so do HBCUs. They give college students of color a safe place to learn without having to be burdened with the expectations of race. They protect black students from the daily microaggressions one encounters at PWIs, not to mention the outright hostility and accusations of being an “affirmative action admit.” For four years, black college students can be “the kid from California who likes 80s electronica” or “the theater nerd” or “the Steely Dan super fan” instead of “the black guy.” I went to an HBCU for my undergraduate degree and subsequently completed two terminal degrees at one of the most prestigious, competitive PWIs in the world. My HBCU experience fortified me for what I had to navigate at my PWI, allowing me to not only survive, but excel. I credit all of my current success to personal and educational foundation that was laid at my undergraduate HBCU.
80
@Jon There are many different kinds of diversity and no one prevents white students from attending.
13
These schools already get millions in grants. How about they get their act together financially like the rest of academia?
Otherwise they should perish.
6
It was easy to make a case for H.B.C.U's when students of color were not welcome, or even safe at mainstream schools. And I don't want to see any institutions of higher learning close. But I think the time has come to end the self-segregation, and integrate the rest of the nation's schools that expect to receive federal funding. Not just colleges and universities, all the schools.
At least, that will need to be done if we ever want this nation to stop raising hateful bigots.
Of any complexion.
23
HBCUs do not prevent students of other races from attending. They're not self segregating. You're thinking of women's colleges, who don't admit men.
7
@John N. I don't think the issue of hateful bigots rests on the shoulders of HBCUs, their alum, students or faculty. The need to integrate our segregated public schools is separate and just as important as maintaining HBCUs for the very reasons listed in this op-ed. And if for no other reason, black people are still marginalized. We have been a fully integrated America for 50 years and yet the bigotry reinvents itself as policy and procedure every time. These schools (which I attended, as did my mother & relatives before me) are not the problem. They're actually a long-standing solution & federal funding should support that solution. There's a reason HBCUs churn out most of the black docs, teachers, lawyers, etc. How that is lost on anyone is baffling.
16
@John N. Well, I hope you tell that to all the PWIs too. This is not a conversation you are equipped to participate in if that’s all you know about HBCUs. May I suggest you read some books written by alums. Just start there.
4
I taught in an HBCU private college in South Carolina. Most of the students did not work at all for their grades, whatsoever. They expected and demanded good grades for doing nothing at all. The situation was not about grade inflation as is the case even in Harvard. I was expected to give grades students did not work for at all. This college, or private religious university as it was called, was the most sexist as well. Most departments had all male professors who did not excel professionally, either. And professors were constantly pressured to get grants. Those professors who did get grants had their money taken away by the university illegally. Unfortunately, there were some students that were excellent and were unhappy attending courses that were not challenging at all. Therefore, this HBCU did not help them excel. The students were constantly referred to as customers by the administration and they expected professors to give them grades they did not work for at all. Moreover, I also witnessed a lot of discrimination against those who were not black. Once, I even asked a student to leave the class when he would not stop making fun of Jews after I advised the whole class their attitude was not ethical. I was reprimanded by the dean. Yes, it's time for most of these HBCUs to close and have students attend a regular college as a way to learn to interact with diversity.
12
It is past time for rich graduates to support their Alma Maters!
1
All private schools are struggling and will continue to do so because finding students who can pay or are willing to
Finance $15k/year in room and board is getting harder to find. Most people I know are now going in state or to community college first. It’s just the best choice if you have to borrow.
2
The story notes that "the White House has mildly increased investment" which is 14.5 percent. Since when is that a mild investment?
Trump has been a friend of HBCUs since he arrived in office. He met with HBCU presidents a month after he was sworn in and signed an executive order moving the federal HBCU initiative to the White House.
We may not like some (or all) of what this President is doing but he's been good to HBCUs.
10
@Ryan m
Well, AMERICA needs to be of more aid to HBCUs. Remember we were cast into these schools yet our thirst for knowledge along with our spirit of excellence turned them into shining citadels of arts and sciences. Universities depend on big donors yet, the American government has institutionally stifled our economic growth. Even the private HBCUs deserve reparations because of the legacy of Jim Crow and institutionalized racism that steered resources to now giant Universities like Vanderbilt and away from great institutions like Fisk. Both in Nashville, Fisk is Vanderbilt's senior by more than 5 years yet Vandy's endowment is $6.9B where Fisk's is abut $30M tops.
4
Historically Black Colleges and Universities face many of the same challenges as less well-known mainstream universities during a time of tremendous socioeconomic transformation.
Funding, dwindling enrollments, developing and expanding curricular offerings, recruiting able faculty.
The most competitive black students will find it difficult to resist the allure of scholarships from the Ivy League, elite liberal arts colleges, and public Ivies. This trend will ultimately weaken the alumni base of H.B.C.U.s.
One solution would be to downsize and consolidate. These schools still play an important historical and socioeconomic role in black America and the society at large.
4
@Andrew Shin some of the most competitive students choose to attend HBCUs. We turn down Princeton and Yale and to go to them. Stop thinking everything white is the best. It’s not.
2
@ReginaGiddens
You are putting words into my mouth.
Nothing in my comment remotely implies "white is the best."
Smith-Barrow herself suggests that many H.B.C.U.s are cash-strapped. Many elite mainstream schools can offer much better financial packages.
It's a simple, rather benign, observation. Don't read too much into it.
I appreciate that these schools offer an intangible sort of nurturing, esp. for 1st-generation students. But there's simply not enough African-American students seeking that sort of atmosphere any more. There will be room for a few such schools in the future, as there is still a space for some women's colleges. However, for most HBCUs any sort of future is going to require integration.
7
A wonderful article but perhaps the free market is dictating (and what the article mentions).
Larger, better funded state and private universities are now actively courting minorities with generous aid packages in order to diversify their student body.
Unless HBCUs can come up with a market based solution, as some seem to have done, it may be time for them to start winding down operations as our society has evolved to a point where so many are not needed.
And in the end, that's a good thing.
12
@Dileep Gangolli
See ' The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism' Edward Baptist
On the eve of the Civil War the 4 million enslaved Africans in a nation of 30 million were worth more than all of the other capital assets in America combined. Except for the land.
See [email protected]
1
A sad fact about these schools is that many of the graduates are biracial, depriving the institutions of the support network and credibility.
I hope they make it.
3
I don’t even understand what you’re talking about? There were millions of purely African slaves, but the graduates of theses schools and other luminaries of the NAACP like DuBois and Booker T were largely biracial.
Still, I hope these schools survive if they can.
2
@Mark
The only ' bi-racial' is the 2-5% of extinct European Neanderthal and Asian Denovisan biological DNA genetic material left lingering among modern humans who left Africa.
If you were one-drop aka 1/32nd black African ancestry you were and still are all and only black African American. From NAACP Walter White to UNIA Marcus Garvey there was no color aka race gulf that mattered.
See whitneyplantation.com
1
Could it be these schools are no longer competitive? That with active recruiting of minorities by all colleges, and the supportive programs offered by other colleges, the unique educational advantages of HBCUs has diminished? That students are welcomed and can thrive in many colleges elsewhere. One could argue that if the above is true, then the evolution away from “separate but equal” is a good thing. That said, there’s something about Howard and it’s students that always appealed to me.
6
@Byron Viewing the entire premise for the continued existence of HBCUs as a separate but equal for comfort sells these institutions short. I've heard that argument since I became familiar with them in the 1980s. I'm glad you mentioned Howard. Schools like Howard, Spelman and Morehouse provide no less or more value than their other HBCU counterparts. The "something" about them is they come with a well earned and well publicized mystique kids want to be a part that continues to draw some of creme of the crop. What happens at these schools is that rubbing shoulders with and "growing up" with such excellence that loosk like you lifts those "diamonds in the rough" towards their best selves. The result is strength accrued to the African American community at-large that cannot be duplicated in the same numbers at a PWIs. Ask any Black person that raises their kids in a predominately white neighborhood if it's "all good" for their child's betterment and well being. So integration for the sake of integration without the benefit of self-awareness and fully supported self love isn't exactly a model for total well-being now is it!
4
HBCUs are by definition and by choice segregated by race. (Yes, the segregation is voluntary, but nonetheless segregation.)
However, many black students realize that such segregation does not adequately prepare them for the workplaces they hope to enter after graduation, and therefore choose to go to integrated colleges. (Most major employers want to hire people who are comfortable and experienced working and interacting with non-blacks in integrated, multi-racial environments.)
It is stunning to learn that, as the article states, “...the six-year graduation rates at 20 H.B.C.U.s were 20 percent or lower in 2015.” This means that a significant number of the approximately 100 HBCUs in the US are truly failing in their educational mission and/or are recruiting students who are totally unprepared for college.
Finally, the brightest black students (as measured by grades and test scores) are often recruited by historically white colleges to diversify their student bodies both because these colleges support diversity and because there are governmental and societal pressures to diversify student bodies. These students are usually enthusiastic about going to these colleges because they are viewed as academically superior and also because they are usually offered full tuition, room and board.
These factors suggest that the number of HBCUs will continue to decline even as pressures and incentives to diversify historically white colleges and universities continue to increase.
11
@Mon Ray Congratulations on remembering the talking points I've heard for the last 30 years. Nobody knocks Yeshiva or Notre Dame... heck, people raise their banners high. HBCUs expanded in various souther states such as North Carolina back in the 1980s because state legislatures push for more state residents to be admitted to take advantage of state dollars. Your assumption colleges are recruiting those unprepared for college is precisely the sort of tripe spewed out throughout the history of higher education in America. How about consider the other fact the article mentioned that students are of meager means & end up dropping out because they cannot afford college in the first place. That is what I witnessed in the 1980s. Students being viewed as academically superior simply because they went to PWIs is simply not supported by the data. For instance, find out where most Black doctors, lawyers, engineers and scientists come from and you will not see a list of PWIs. HBCUs decline simply because, as people.. especially kids and their hopefully parents inexperienced with what they are dealing with in higher education.. they see all the trappings of these bright shinny well funded PWIs but they do not amount to a guaranteed better experience and certainly not necessarily better graduation rates and a better life. I think perhaps this article deserves a more rigorous examination and not the repeating of all the well worn talking points used to disparage the HBCU mission.
2
Here's a suggestion. As an alternative to Study Abroad semesters and Sister School relationships let's promote study and travel relationships between traditionally white (but trying to diversify) colleges and universities and HBCUs.
I would guess that there would be a lot of students at public and private universities that would choose a semester studying closer to home at some HBCU (and visa versa) than traveling abroad.
Such programs would be cheaper and more profitable for both the students and the colleges and universities, and they might well result in a better education than the fluff often "learned" abroad (though it may not be as much fun). But these sorts of programs would also be valuable as diversifying agents for college and university programs (not just at the student body level).
I could see Princeton and Howard developing a relationship, sharing students, faculty, and experiences of value to both.
19
@JFR Some colleges already do this -- Bryn Mawr used to, and maybe still does, have an exchange relationship with Spelman. Seemed like a great idea to me, to be able to go from a school where just abut 5% of the students are African American to a school where pretty much everyone is. I don't think that's enough to keep so many HBCUs solvent, though.
@Reader Duke allows its students to do this, but most prefer to study abroad.
Segregation had educational costs and benefits.
My enslaved black African paternal ancestors lived on plantations east of Atlanta where they were owned by and bred with my white ancestors until General William T. Sherman came by on his way towards Savannah.
My born enslaved paternal great grandfather graduated from Morehouse. Paid for by my enslaved great great grandparents. And he sent his eldest son my paternal grandfather to Shaw University and Meharry.
My other born enslaved great grandparents sent all five of their daughters including my grandmother to Atlanta University to become school teachers.
My maternal ancestors were enslaved and free-persons of color in South Carolina and Virginia. My free-person of color maternal great grandfather from South Carolina went to an HBCU. So did my enslaved great grandfather.
I didn't attend an HBCU. But half of my generation did. And so has half of the next generation. A college university education has been the minimum expectation in my family for five generations. The next generation is looking away from any HBCU.
8
@Blackmamba I liked your story. It's a beautiful illustration of HBCU excellence and necessity in the beginning and modern day worth. I just wish you had have elaborated on your thoughts on WHY. Why do you think the next generation is looking away from something that is proven in your family. Because they can... because it looks better at PWIs ..because the damaging and patently untrue stigma still exists that HBCUs are second rate? And, do you see this as a good evolution or not... or do you see it is what it is? How do you feel about it? So much more I would have liked for you to say.
1
@Blackmamba Spelman and Howard would beg to differ about the next generation looking away from HBCUs and, yep, I too, come from a family with a long history of attendance in college at HBCUs and PWIs.
1
I’d like a better understanding of how Spelman has thrived when other HBCU’s have not. This is especially notable given that it is a women’s college: that higher ed sector has struggles as well.
Spelman has strong leadership, a decent endowment and a national reputation. It is one of a very small handful of southern schools that attract students every year from our high school (Boston area).
Being in Atlanta helps. So does the fact that Spelman made a thoughtful choice to divert funds from Div 3 sports to overall health and wellness of its students.
9
@Cousy Besides being a good school the fact is that Spelman, Morehouse and Howard do a good job at preserving and presenting the mystique. Kids at these schools buy in to this mystique and their role in it. They believe they are connected to greatness and have a real opportunity for greatness themselves. They also have data to prove it. PWIs have vast budgets to shine themselves up and present themselves as the bell of the ball but many HBCU do not. Spelman doesn't need a vast marketing campaign because any and everyone knows it produces the greatness and always has. Students want to be part of that well-connected pipeline.
4
@Cousy Spelman College is named after John D. Rockefeller's wife, Laura Spelman Rockefeller. The Rockefeller family has always been actively involved with the school to this day.
7
@Cousy Spelman has excellent professors who teach a wide range of interesting classes. Companies come and directly recruit because it’s a campus filled with brilliant young black women. And Atlanta is a culturally vibrant and diverse predominately black city.
1
One radical idea to ensure the future of HBCUs might be to focus the institutions on STEM fields. This is one area where HBCUs deliver much better outcomes for African American students compared to mainstream institutions. HBCU STEM students also have much better metrics for retention and graduations than their liberal arts classmates. If HBCU focused on STEM it could be placed on much better financial footing and bring focus to academic identity and student services. Over the generations, HBCU has done a great job producing doctors, scientists, and engineers—building a more focused future on these areas of excellence could be a compelling way to reimagine HBCUs.
5
HBCUs still produce the majority of Black college graduates. Most doctors, post graduate degrees, graduate from HBCU's. Facts
Black peoples still think white people ice water is colder. The chains that still exist around our brains never ceases to amaze me. Black people spend trillions of dollars on stuff but will beg for what we need. If you can purchase a $1,000 smartphone, you can cut a check to HBCUs.
Several weeks ago Anthony Abraham Jack wrote an article in this newspaper, complaining about the lack nurture at his alma mater, Amherst College.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/10/magazine/collegeinequality.html#permid=sContainer&permid=102472200:102472200
HBCUs still provide the support Mr. Jack was speaking of. Yet, black people are running from these colleges in droves.
16
@Trina Going to Spelman would have left me in debt. Often, going to Amherst winds up costing a lot less (financially).
1
@BB
Is Spelman the only HBCUs? No, state school also make up HBCUs.
The big picture....
The Black upper and middle classes were educated at these universities. Not one HBCUs should have an accreditation issues or lack monetary resources. What's Harvards financial endowment net worth? What's Morehouse and/or Spelman respective financial endowments net worth?
Whether one attended a HBCUs or not... the Black community should be supporting these schools. Black people still fail to make the connection between Institutions equaling power and self determination.
Allow these Universities to disappear... our community and our young people are going to be in for a crude awakening.
1
Perhaps HBCUs could start to recruit first-generation Latinx and other immigrant/refugee population students. These students would face many of the same challenges as first generation African-American students and HBCUs already have the support structures in place to help them thrive and be successful in higher education.
8
@AnonymousPlease there are HSIs in existence.
Did I miss something? This article does not mention the expiration of federal funding to HBCUs and other "minority-serving institutions" (MSIs), which occurred on September 30, 2019. The House has passed a bill, the FUTURE Act, which would restore the funding. However, Lamar Alexander, chair of the HELP Committee in the Senate, will not take up the bill. Moreover, many smaller private colleges and universities are going to be facing student-enrollment disasters given current demographics. A 20% graduate rate in 6 years sounds horrible, yes, out of context, but graduation rates nationwide are a concern, especially for low-income students. See, for example, David Leonhardt's column here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/25/opinion/college-graduation-gap.html. Or look at some statistics for CUNY and SUNY schools. I know one article can't include the full picture, but this piece seems to be missing some key context.
22
" If the federal government doesn’t issue a rescue mission in the coming decade, it’s a tragic extinction we should be prepared for."
Rescue what why? The tragedy I do not get. The federal government does not need to and should not be subsidizing, in 2019, consciously self-segregating institutions. Float or sink, like others. No qualified African-American student will be turned away from public universities in this day and age, and that is good.
14
@William Shine HBCUs are more than just a place for African-American students to go to college because they can't get in anywhere else. First-generation college students and students from neglected, cash-strapped, predominantly minority school districts have challenges in entering higher education that most white students and students from more middle and upper class school districts do not have. And while many colleges and universities are instituting support structures for these students, HBCUs have been providing the support for a long time and are uniquely situated to help students thrive and succeed when they don't come from a family/community where higher education is the norm. For that reason alone they have value, but I think they have an intrinsic cultural and historic value and it would be a shame if they were lost.
20
These institutions are not self segregating. On the contrary, they've had open door policies from the start, when the Ivy Leagues wouldn't even allow women into their colleges. Low income students, Latin students, Native American students, and women of all backgrounds were admitted to, and encouraged to attend, HBCUs. Most of the student population was black, sure, but there were no quotas. Those open policies continue to this day.
20
As the country becomes majority non-white, it would follow that these universities would be able to gain some foothold in admissions. Efforts to attract other minority groups, particularly Hispanics, would contribute to this capitalization. If only they can hang on until that growth comes into full fruition.
2
@Jennifer kusch
With respect, the majority of Hispanics consider themselves white, and much like my southern European ancestors, will integrate into the whole pretty easily over time. Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race. I'm out-whited by friends of Cuban and Chilean descent all the time. And without trying to disparage Latin cultures, let's say their general stance towards blacks is behind the times vis-a-vis your average NYT reader, or frankly American culture writ large.
So I don't see HBCUs, especially those with 20% graduation rates, being particularly attractive to upwardly mobile Hispanic Americans. They'd rather fo to a state school, and the money is often there. (In CA at least).
7
@Jennifer kusch HSIs are in existence.
The HBCU’s would be a great cause for black athletes, entertainers, Oprah, etc to donate some of their millions in salaries that they get. Too bad you don’t hear about it, if it exists at all.
15
@Charles Branch Alas that would still be a drop in the bucket. They need serious infusions into their regular operating budgets. That usually goes beyond individual donors, even many.
1
@Charles Branch Denzel Washington has made sizable contributions to Wiley College in Marshall, TX. It was the real life and movie setting for The Great Debaters, about the debating team that prevailed over the national champions in the 1930’s. That was USC in life and Harvard in the movie.
4
@Charles Branch , Oprah recently donated $13 million to Morehouse College. In 1988, Bill and Camille Cosby donated $20 to Spelman. It exists. You have to make an earnest effort to look for it.
1
If African-Americans will not pull out the stops and support these schools, no one else will.
10
Small colleges that do not have the prestige of an Ivy or the backing of an institution such as a church or government have been in trouble for a while. My parents both attended small colleges in the late 50s/early 60s. They graduated with no debt, a great education and lifelong friends. Kids today are seeing their older friends and family members drowning in debt and are looking elsewhere. Plus, big schools today are hungry for diversity and can offer jobs to top-academic talent and generous aid packages to the best high school students. But the problem is bigger. Can you name one prominent black intellectual (Cornell West, Henry Louis Gates, Shelby Steele, William Julius Wilson, etc) who teaches at an HBCU ? You probably can't.
13
@Joe Actually, the names you mentioned are hardly the only prominent names in black academia. Big names don’t equal great education.
8
@Joe: I can name several in my field (History):
Merline Pitre - Texas Southern University
Will Guzman - Prairie View A & M University
Bertis English - Alabama State University
Google them and see their scholarly contributions as well as their successful teaching of young people. Of course, there are many more at other HBUCs that YOU have not heard about, but who are "prominent intellectuals." Indeed, if you actually knew the history of the scholars and "intellectuals" at HBCUs, you would know the names of E. Franklin Frazier, Aaron Douglas, Charles Johnson, W. E. B. DuBois, Anna Julia Cooper, George Washington Carver, Rayford W. Logan, John Hope Franklin, Frances Cress Welsing, Hallie Q. Brown, Charles H. Wesley, Dorothy Porter, and many more. Your homework assignment: google these scholars and "intellectuals" and see what they have contributed to our country.
5
@WMD thank you for gathering him with the facts! I’m so tired of white supremacy
1
This institutions are important national institutions. They remain at the forefront of creating black professionals, especially in the sciences. They need to remain viable and open by any means necessary.
12
I wonder at the low rates of HBCU alumni giving participation. This suggests a disconnect that deprives the schools of some financial support but also, importantly, a pipeline of potential students who have positive impressions of the schools through family or others in their communities. My own college, which has notably loyal alumni, gets 50-60 percent annual fund participation (note that I’m talking about participation rates, not dollar amounts given). They actively nurture alumni connections and school identity; there is an energetic alumni association; and the college’s board of directors is dominated by alumni.
What can HBCUs do to improve this piece of the puzzle?
22
HBCUs are tanking because they don't make themselves relevant. Two examples where they have great opportunity. First is urban agriculture in the context of food deserts and bad nutrition. They can come up with research to provide healthy food to inner city populations. The second is the stress physiology of African Americans. Studies have shown that African Americans are under chronic stress because of everyday racism they face. That would explain the lower life expectancy. If HBCUs invested in research that's relevant to poor and oppressed minorities, they would be more respected.
6
But is there research (foundation, federal, state) funding for either of these areas of inquiry/practice?
1
@Srini "If" they invest in research that's relevant? Can you name 10 HBCUs and their areas of study/focus? Have you done the research to know what their research is?
2
My granddaughter (white) spent her freshman year at South Carolina State University because a family friend was teaching there. She made many friends and enjoyed her classes there. But the state funding was always short. The dorm elevators tended not to work, The bathrooms on her floor had no hot water so she had to shower in a friends room, and many of the buildings were not air conditioned. But for the U of South Carolina in Columbia, there was always money for tiger athletic fields, fancier dorms etc. My granddaughter had planned to major in Spanish with a minor in German but her program was cut so she had to transfer to another university.
10
What a great many Americans don’t understand—or want to do the research—is that HBCU’s are one of the few positive legacies of slavery. Post-bellum America didn't want the sons and daughters of the men and women who formerly worked their masters’ plantations anywhere near an institution of higher learning.
I was one of the lucky ones. I graduated from Howard University in 1970 and earned a master’s degree 14 years later. In applying for a post-graduate degree, my academic credentials were never questioned by the school that accepted me. I was able, as an older student, then in my late 30’s, to compare the benefits of attending an HBCU and an “ordinary” campus.
My experience at Howard was one of diversity and enrichment. Students from all over the globe—especially those from India and other countries that make up the huge Subcontinent of Asia— attended Howard’s esteemed schools of law, medicine, engineering and architectural disciplines. These international students may have been able to afford to attend (predominantly) white colleges and universities but chose to enroll at Howard. No student goes to college to learn less. Black students, some of whom have historically struggled to even qualify for tuition and books, have more than returned the investment HBCU’s made in them. And why not? If we don’t help ourselves, who will?
Congress should not forget the nation’s debt to HBCU’s. Instead of bestowing billions to wealthy farmers, why not invest where there’ll be a return?
59
Why is it the Federal Government’s job to rescue these schools?
These are private institutions.
22
@Conibral That all HBCUs are private is incorrect. Mentioned in this article are Tennessee State University and Morgan State, two of many built by states as land grant colleges or “training schools” for African Americans. In my home city, we have a branch of the state’s largest university system, one public HBCU and a private religiously affiliated HBCU.
Interestingly, four decades ago, the president of the state HBCU discouraged his board from attempting to overtake and subsume the larger, whiter public school on the other side of town. The federal system in place would have granted its blessing. His reasoning - the forces that created the white-majority school would eventually take over his majority AA university and render its HBCU roots an historic oddity. He chose to remain separate but equal.
10
It’s called Reparations.
9
@Conibral - - Think of it this way: nobody in public life wants to see more black colleges close ''on their watch.''
There is an aura at these colleges that is missing at the more famous universities scattered across the country that have given up so much of their credibility because of rancid and rabid political correctness.
If there's enough money to keep all the pointless gender studies and queer theory departments open up and down the coasts, surely the people making a million or more a year can support Howard and the rest that are busy actually building up future adults who will make a difference in people's lives.
4
Unfortunately, throwing money at this problem alone will not suffice. The mire in which many formerly prestigious institutions now find themselves, can in large part be traced back to a combination of poor fiscal management, an inward global view, inflexibility to change, autocratic leadership, and lack of attention to customer service, care and support.
For years, by turning a deaf ear to the needs, desires and outcries of dissatisfied students and Alumni demographic, they have fostered resentment at best and outright enmity at worst.
This has culminated in a situation where many parents would never dream of sending their bright (and not so bright in some cases) middle class and above children to an H.B.C.U.
The value proposition presented must evolve. It can no longer be about the black experience (as the author lightly notes), but it must encompass a wider message that resonates with a more sophisticated global audience, that has increasingly more robust options at hand.
29
@Now In DE HBCU have never denied a student based on race and unlike white schools, we have never had the type of financial support that we deserved. The fact that many of our schools are still around with all the systemic barriers and racism in America is remarkable. Know your facts.
13
There is nothing remarkable about their survival. These colleges have received millions in aid and it’s so easy for colleges to make money generally. That’s why so many schools have massive endowments.
Stop celebrating mediocrity.
1
@Now In DE Are you an HBCU alumnus/alumna? Or are you just making generalized racist opinions (i.e. Black people cannot take care of themselves)?
As an HBCU alumnus, I can tell you that the primary reason for any Black institution to struggle (school, church, neighborhood, business), is that the majority of BLACK people believe in white supremacy, and thus waste their entire lives trying to assimilate into a culture that has never accepted them. You can see this through Blacks' choices of schools, neighborhoods, employment, and now even their churches and life partners (look at the number of Black people celebrating the marriage of a biracial woman into one of the primary families responsible for white suprmeacy). Sad but true (the need for some Blacks to be accepted by Whites has no bounds).
Genocide, by different names (i.e. integration, assimilation), is still genocide.
This seems an opportunity for the government to step in and fund HBCUs that already have proven track records, as part of a larger reparations package that can begin to address the impact of historical injustices that sadly continue into the 21st century.
52
@Mary C A government bailout for colleges that cannot keep afloat? That does not seem to be a wise use of money.
One school mentioned in the story, Cheyney University, has less than 700 undergraduates with a 26% graduation rate. The school has no endowment and cannot pay what it owes to the state of Pennsylvania. Should that school be saved?
4
@Mary C They already receive Federal funds. But more importantly, since there are so many alumni, why don't those alumni fund the schools as well?