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New Leadership for Black Colleges

July 21, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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Though he has been on the job only two days, the new man in charge of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities says altering the tone of the national conversation about black colleges is one of his top priorities, Inside Higher Ed reports.

John Silvanus Wilson, a former administrator at George Washington University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says that "black colleges will never be as strong as they can be unless that narrative changes. . . . We need to shift from how to survive to how to thrive."

But many HBCUs have been more in survival mode this year, hit hard by the unexpected downturn in the economy. For example, Clark Atlanta University dismissed 70 faculty members, some of whom were tenured professors. Morris Brown College of Atlanta lost its accreditation and subsequently many of its students, and the Georgia state legislature might merge financially troubled Savannah State and Armstrong Atlantic State to cut costs, U.S. News reports.

Wilson recognized that many black colleges face such problems as "low faculty salaries, insufficient financial aid, often poor facilities." He sees raising money through donations as a possible solution. When black colleges "go out and seek support, the soundtrack that philanthropists and prospects hear is dominated by violins, and we need to go out and seek support where the soundtrack is trumpets. I helped raise a lot of money at MIT, and we never played the violin," Wilson says. "The trumpet is about greatness and the violin is about pity. We don't need support that comes from pity but investment that comes from a belief in what we can do."

Though Wilson has worked at institutions with predominantly white student populations, he has a personal stake in the success of black colleges. He has worked with several foundations to increase HBCU fund-raising and is a trustee of Spelman College and a graduate of Morehouse College.

Along with increased fund-raising efforts, Wilson also recognizes the importance of increasing graduation rates at HBCUs. "You can't make a very good case for yourself if 85 percent of the people who start in a freshman class are gone by senior year," he says. He praised the recent efforts of Philander Smith College and its president, Walter Kimbrough, to raise the graduation rate among its male students.

Tags:: historically black colleges and universities,; colleges,; education

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There's also an incorrect assumption that every HBCU is majority black. Gadsden State Community College is an HBCU, as is Bluefield State College. But take a look at their student population. There are other HBCUs that are no longer mostly black. So there's no "lack of diversity" at those schools.

A.M. of CA 2:19PM August 10, 2009

@ PD - I attended an HBCU for my undergraduate degree (Spelman College) and I am now a graduate student at Harvard University. In response to your third question, the "apparent lack of diversity" is actually nonexistent from my perspective. I grew up in a mostly white neighborhood, attended a mostly white private school from pre-school through elementary, followed by mostly white junior high and high schools. To me, that was a lack of diversity. Attending an HBCU WAS diversity - I met students from all over the world and I was exposed to cultures I had no previous knowledge of. The term "Historically Black" tends to lead people to believe there is no diversity because "black" is typically associated with African Americans. However, there were students at my college from various other countries and continents, and meeting them and learning about different cultures was an eye-opening experience for me. My point is that the diversity I encountered at Spelman opened my mind to so much. Yes, that could happen at "majority institutions." But it can and does happen at HBCUs as well.
The reality though is that most schools are majority SOMETHING. For some reason, attending a school that is 80%+ white is seen as the norm. Attending a school that is 80%+ black is considered a lack of diversity. That, to me, is a double-standard.

S. W. of GA 11:51AM August 07, 2009

Answer #1
There is, nor will there ever be, a one size fits all solution to the problem of inequality in institutions of higher learning. The problem is similar to what happens routinely in families with 2 or more children. No 2 are ever alike and the notion that you can treat them all the same and get the desired result is a fallacy which most parents will attest to. To maximize each one’s potential a tailored plan must be created based upon individual needs, talents and aspirations. Sure there are some needs that all children have regardless of their apparent differences and these needs must be addressed. However, a two-pronged approach, which further addresses the individual needs, must be applied to produce maximum results. Parents know that different does not mean bad, weak, etc. It means different.
Many adversities facing minority students have little to do with academics, but may affect their ability to perform academically and consequently their retention rates in higher education. HBCU’s generally hire, though not exclusively, faculty and staff that are reflective of its student population who are often more capable of addressing the needs of its students than their counterparts at majority institutions. Thus, HBCU’s often fill a gap for good students that must be transformed to overcome the adversities of their backgrounds to become the scholars that they are. Faculties and staff that have already been able to transcend similar barriers are uniquely equipped to assist the student in making the transition necessary. “They can show them the way because they know the way.”
Some minority students are quite capable of prospering while attending heterogeneous majority institutions while other such students would benefit greatly by being transformed while attending a HBCU (primarily homogeneous institutions). Both students have academic abilities, talents and skills that when honed can make great contributions to the larger society, but each must take his/her on route to achieve the desired results.
Answer #2
Colleges that serve high risk students and have small endowments are still very much needed. America could not offer its “dream” to all citizens without providing avenues for their achievement. The accreditation process includes many parameters and financial stability is often one of the main reasons these institutions are in jeopardy. However, the chain that represents America is only as great as its weakest link. When we do not address the needs of the least among us, we will all suffer eventually.
Answer #3
If one is to love his neighbor as himself, the assumption is that he first loves himself. Minority students often benefit from the nurturing environments at HBCU’s. They are taught to believe in themselves and their abilities to perform. They are provided an environment somewhat free of many of the adversities that faced them in their local communities and are provided mentoring from others who are travelling the journey to success that they have begun. They are challenged sufficiently to maximize their abilities, encouraged to strive to be all that they can be and to get outside of themselves and make contributions to the greater good of humanity. Once placed on a firm foundation in the crucible of and HBCU, the student is encouraged and required to diversify. The plan is never to keep them from diversification but rather to prepare them for it.

Barb of MS of MS 10:52AM July 29, 2009

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