In its three-year strategic plan released at the end of July, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Success Advisory Board promised to support the strengthening of the state’s seven HBCUs’ administrative capacities.
Dr. Brittany Mosby, director of HBCU Success at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
HBCU funding, Mosby said, is largely tuition driven and relies heavily on giving and return from endowments which are much smaller than those at Predominately White Institution (PWIs). That means HBCUs are “not always able to have the same salary outlay as some of the bigger institutions,” said Mosby.
Lower salaries can impact hiring. But where funding and staff are short in Tennessee, partnerships have blossomed. As HBCUs approach the fall semester, they will continue to work with each other, nearby PWIs, and local community colleges to ensure that administrative hiring struggles do not negatively impact student outcomes.
Dr. Vann Newkirk Sr., president of Fisk University, a private HBCU in Nashville, said his university does not have a problem recruiting faculty, but it has been difficult to hire some administrative roles because of inflation and the rising cost-of-living in Nashville.
“Right now, making $55,000, it’s quite difficult when some apartments are $2,000 per month,” said Newkirk. “Our problem is lower-level positions that don’t require expertise, you have a hard time finding folks because the salary that we pay may not be as much as a person could get.”
Newkirk said that Fisk has been working to increase the salary of its faculty and staff to keep up with inflation, but he added, with the rates changing so frequently, it has not been easy.
