Dr. John Silvanus Wilson Jr. looks back at his days as a Morehouse College student as a time when faculty, staff and administrators formed a campus community that was nurturing and family-oriented – a distinguishing characteristic of many of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities.
“But I’m a little concerned that positive feature for some (HBCUs) is becoming more legend than reality,” said Wilson, the
That is just one of the aspects of HBCUs that Wilson, an assistant professor at The George Washington University, hopes to jumpstart as head of the office in the U.S. Department of Education that serves as a liaison for HBCUs, the White House and President Obama’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
His office issues to the president an annual report on the state of HBCUs and their participation in federal programs, advises the education secretary on increasing the federal role in strengthening HBCUs and reports to the president about increasing the private sector’s role in boosting HBCUs.
It has been an office that has had some tough years. Immediate past executive director Dr. Leonard Haynes was appointed by the Bush administration to the position in October 2007 after Charles M. Greene resigned from the post just 18 months into the job. Greene clashed with the board of advisors that was dissatisfied with his performance.
Issues of the office’s credibility had also risen around the country, an issue Haynes said he dove into head on.
“I’m confident that history will record that I made an outstanding contribution as executive director,” said Haynes, who added he wasn’t surprised by the change in leadership and will return, for the short term, to his post as senior advisor to the assistant secretary of education. “It’ll say, ‘Haynes revived an office without any life or without any meaning.”
