The future of HBCUs hinges on winning contracts instead of grants, identifying and implementing ways to become more energy efficient, and making a concerted effort to retain and graduate incoming students who are increasingly ill-prepared for the rigors of college.
Such were among the key messages delivered Tuesday during the final day of HBCU Week 2010, which featured speakers from leaders of government, multinational corporations and the ranks of prominent Black scholars.
Oliver Leslie, the HBCU/MI program manager at aerospace giant The Boeing Corporation, said it is becoming increasingly essential for HBCUs to start competing for government and private industry contracts instead of just grants.
“We’re moving away from the grant world to the contract world,” Oliver said during a panel discussion titled ‘Building Private Partnerships’. “It’s a paradigm shift.”
Speaking at the same panel, Tizoc Loza, corporate program manager for HBCU/MI at Northrop Grumman Corporation, a defense contractor, said Northrop works with universities through the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, which enables universities to partner with small businesses and contractors to develop new and innovative technologies into the world of commerce.
“This is a way for universities to bring an idea from the laboratory out into the marketplace,” Loza said.
Adrienne Booth-Johnson, manager of multicultural marketing for The Coca-Cola Company, offered tips to university officials on how to get sponsorships for university events.
