WASHINGTON, D.C. — The debate over the relevance of HBCUs got a fresh airing Tuesday when a panel discussion triggered an acrimonious exchange that moved some HBCU leaders to defend their institution’s very existence.
The paradoxical nature of the discussion at the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education’s 37th annual National Dialogue on Blacks in Higher Education was perhaps best summed up by Dr. John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
“It’s a bad time for another round of negative publicity for us,” he said, referring to an education report from the early 20th century that stated HBCUs needed to garner “dignified publicity” in order to tap into the philanthropic world for financial support.
At the same time, he said, “It’s about time we dealt with this, so we can put it to rest.”
Wilson made his remarks during a NAFEO panel discussion titled “HBCUs & PBIs: Fostering Access & Success; Fueling Innovation & Competitiveness.” With meetings scheduled at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center outside Washington and on Capitol Hill, the NAFEO conference got underway Tuesday at the National Press Club and will end Friday.
Several HBCU leaders said they feel the mission of HBCUs are under attack, yet they were hesitant to assume a defensive posture. Instead, many point to HBCUs’ track record of conferring more degrees to Blacks than other institutions, particularly in the so-called STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Morgan State University President David Wilson used the occasion to announce that his institution had just secured a $28.5 million share of a $95.8 million, five-year grant from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to do research in support of NASA’s Earth and space science objectives.
