- A new coalition of 15 HBCUs has formed to raise the research profile of Black institutions collectively and to use their research to tackle some of “society’s most pressing challenges,” leaders of the group announced recently. Howard University Interim President Wayne A. I. Frederick will serve as interim president of the group, named the Association of HBCU Research Institutions, or AHRI.
- The coalition is being funded by a three-year, $1 million grant from the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative, which is a presidential initiative of Harvard University founded as a way for Harvard to take "full accountability for its involvement in and benefit from slavery through actively advancing reparative efforts" and "have [a] meaningful impact on direct descendants and descendant communities."
- In addition to Howard University, founding members include 13 partner institutions classified as “R2,” or “high” research activity institutions. They are: Clark Atlanta University, Delaware State University, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Hampton University, Jackson State University, Morgan State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University, South Carolina State University, Southern University, Tennessee State University, Texas Southern University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Virginia State University.
HBCU senior leaders at a press conference announcing the launch of the Association of HBCU Research Institutions included (left to right): Donald Palm, Ph.D., executive vice president for health science enterprise and research innovation at Florida A&M University; Heidi M. Anderson, Ph.D., president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA, FACS, Howard University interim president, president emeritus, and Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery and AHRI interim president; David K. Wilson, Ed.D., president of Morgan State University and chair of the AHRI Board; Tomikia P. LeGrande, Ed.D., president of Prairie View A&M University and vice chair of the AHRI Board; Aminta H. Breaux, Ph.D., president of Bowie State University; Gen. Darrell K. Williams, president of Hampton University; and James W. Crawford III, J.D., LLM, president of Texas Southern University.Howard University
The bigger picture:
Howard is currently the only HBCU with R1 status, which it achieved in 2025, and one of fewer than 200 institutions nationwide designated for its “very high research spending and doctorate production." When the institution became the first HBCU to achieve R1 status in 2025, it was hailed as a “groundbreaking achievement” and “significant milestone” for HBCUs. In his remarks following the announcement of the Association of HBCU Research Institutions, President Frederick said forming the coalition is a "declaration" that HBCUs are “leaders shaping a new era of discovery, reimagining both the solutions and the systems that drive research.”
One major goal of the coalition is to “strengthen the foundation for HBCU research excellence and support more institutions on the path from R2 to R1 status,” said Sara Naomi Bleich, provost for special projects at Harvard, who also leads the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative work.
The coalition comes at a time when gatekeepers to university research classifications have simplified the criteria for earning various research designations under what is known as the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. For instance, whereas before R1 status was contingent upon a complex array of factors, now it is based on how much universities spend on research and how many doctorates they produce based on a three-year average. To achieve R1 status, a university must spend $50 million on research and produce 70 doctorates a year.
While the coalition is seeking to boost the number of HBCUs that achieve R1 status, the true measure of the coalition’s impact will not necessarily be how many R1 institutions it produces among HBCUs, but what kind of effects their research will have on solving real-world problems that affect everyday people.
