Congress and the White House have agreed to provide $1 billion in emergency funds to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) and other minority serving institutions (MSIs) to help them cope with the coronavirus pandemic, said the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) in a statement on Wednesday.
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) said in a statement that the funding amounts to $1.05 billion.
Some Democratic senators and a host of advocates for HBCUs and MSIs, including the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU), the National Association For Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) have since last week been lobbying for $1.5 billion in emergency funds for HBCUs and MSIs, saying the costs related to dealing with coronavirus-related campus closures will break the backs of these historically underfunded institutions.
These colleges have to transition to online teaching, which involves huge investments in technology. They have to cover expenses for students from low-income families who have had to leave campus and return home. And they have to cover costs for those students whose circumstances prevent them from going home.
“The disruption of classroom-based education to transition to distance learning and even assisting some students with travel back home has put a tremendous unforeseen financial strain on institutions that have historically been underfunded,” said UNCF’s statement.
The funds for HBCUs and other MSIs are part of a $2 trillion federal coronavirus stimulus package – introduced in the Senate as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act – agreed on by Congress and the White House on Wednesday. Congress is yet to pass the legislation, but observers expect it will be passed and sent to President Trump for his signature.
“I call on the House and Senate to swiftly pass this legislation,” said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, UNCF’s president and CEO. “Also, let me be clear: the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting HBCUs hard. All emergencies that hit the higher education system seem to hit HBCUs harder because we serve mostly Pell Grant eligible students.”
