Ed Smith-Lewis
DIVERSE: Can you talk about the history of the Institute for Capacity Building and how the UNITE convening came about?
SMITH-LEWIS: The Institute for Capacity Building, or ICB as we affectionately call it, was established with the bold and necessary vision to move HBCUs beyond the survival mindset to one of strategic growth, transformation, and ultimately long-term sustainability. For generations, HBCUs have been creating opportunities despite systemic underfunding and external pressures. UNCF recognized that these institutions need more than just emergency support or short-term grants. They needed long-term, data-driven, institutionally customized strategies to build financial resilience, promote academic innovation, and drive student success models that work for their institutions.
Under the guidance and visionary leadership of our current President and CEO, Dr. Michael Lomax, ICB officially launched in 2006. The work is much deeper than that, and we'll be celebrating our 20th anniversary next year. It was an idea ahead of its time – at the time of its launch, very few funders, organizations, or institutions were talking about capacity building.
One of our most defining initiatives started in 2016: the Career Pathways Initiative (CPI), a $50 million investment by the Lilly Endowment. CPI wasn't just about connecting students to jobs; it was about reimagining how career readiness is embedded into the entire academic experience at HBCUs. That initiative provided 23 HBCUs and a PBI [Predominantly Black Institution] with data-driven strategies to align academic programs with workforce needs to ensure students didn't just graduate with degrees, but with the skills, experiences, and networks to launch meaningful careers.
From CPI and our broader institutional support work, UNITE was born. Originally designed as an annual conference for CPI institutions, UNITE quickly evolved into the premier space for HBCUs to gather, collaborate, and push the boundaries of what's possible. The first few convenings focused on career readiness and the Career Pathways Initiative, but we quickly realized the need for a bigger tent – a space where HBCUs can engage on issues of leadership, financial health, academic transformation, student success, and institutional collaboration.
