Federal funds for minority-serving colleges and universities are on the chopping block for next year as the House of Representatives is proposing deep cuts or outright elimination of many of these programs for the government’s 2012 fiscal year.
The bill from leaders of the Republican-led Appropriations Committee would terminate U.S. Education Department programs for tribal colleges and predominantly Black institutions while making significant cuts in programs for historically Black colleges and Hispanic-serving institutions.
The bill is generating strong opposition in the MSI community. “This is counterintuitive to our national goals,” said Edith Bartley, government affairs director at UNCF. “We can’t allow cuts to these basic capacity-building programs,” she told Diverse.
Funding for the Title III Strengthening HBCUs program would drop from $236 million to $152 million, a reduction of 36 percent next year, under the bill. Black colleges use these funds to build capacity on their campuses, including physical plant improvements, student services and faculty/staff development.
Hispanic-serving institutions would face the largest percentage cutback, as funding would fall by 84 percent, from the current $104 million to just $17 million in 2012.
The bill represents “a very dangerous pathway for Congress,” said Antonio Flores, president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. Coming on the heels of an 8 percent cutback for HSIs in 2011, he said, “It will further erode our institutions and lessen opportunities for students.”
But in outlining the plan, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) House Appropriations chairman, said the bill makes tough but necessary choices in setting federal priorities.
