Quite often students and others ask me why I do research — What’s the purpose? Does it make change? Am I doing research to fill journals and books that very few people read? The answer for me and most of my faculty colleagues is “No”! Most of us became faculty members because we wanted to shape and influence the minds of young people. And, we wanted to use our writing and research skills as well as our voices to make positive and systemic change in the world. I personally seek to understand and make change in the world of HBCUs. Fortunately, there are quite a few scholars conducting research related to HBCUs. I thought I’d use this week’s blog entry to highlight some of these individuals and their work. I hope that those of you who work at HBCUs and are interested in the future of HBCUs will take a look at the work of these scholars. Their work, by and large, shows the positive impact that HBCUs have in the nation — providing much needed empirical evidence that policymakers, the media and the public crave.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, here is an interesting article:
Renee Akbar & Michele Sims, “Surviving Katrina and Keeping our Eyes on the Prize: The Strength of Legacy and Tradition in New Orleans’s HBCU Teacher Preparation Programs,” Urban Education, (July 2008), vol. 43, no.4.
And in this world of changing technology, this article might be helpful:
Brigitta Brunner & Lori Boyer, “Internet Presence and Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Protecting Their Images on the World Wide Web,” Public Relations Review, (March 2008), vol. 34, no. 1.
To explore the role of HBCUs in preparing the leaders of corporate America, see:
Robert Boyd, “Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Black Business Elite,” Sociological Perspectives, (Winter 2007), vol. 50, no. 4.
