Committee on Education and Labor : U.S. House of Representatives

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Chairman Miller: Bush Administration Budget Cuts to Historically Black Colleges a Huge Step in the Wrong Direction
House Education Committee Hearing, New Report Highlight Successes of HBCUs in Expanding College Access for Minority Students and Strengthening Nation’s Competitiveness

Thursday, March 13, 2008

 

WASHINGTON, DC -- Despite the fact that America’s black colleges and universities are making great strides in expanding college access and in strengthening the nation’s economic competitiveness, the Bush administration has proposed to gut their funding, which would be a huge step in the wrong direction, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee said during a hearing examining the state of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

In his fiscal year 2009 budget, President Bush proposed cutting funding for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions by $85 million, a 35 percent decrease from the previous year’s budget.

“Last year, the Democratic Congress enacted an historic increase in funding for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions to help bridge their funding gap that has worsened at the hands of the Bush administration,” said Rep. Miller. “It is unthinkable that the President is now trying to cut some of this critically-needed funding for colleges and universities that have a proven track record in providing college opportunities for minority and low-income students.” 

A new report released today by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education highlights the critical role that HBCUs serve in providing higher education opportunities to African-American, low-income, and traditionally disadvantaged students.

As witnesses at today’s hearing explained, although HBCUs represent only 3 percent of all colleges and universities, they enroll close to a third of all African-American students. Forty percent of their students pursue four-year degrees in science, technology, engineering and math, and about half of all African-American students in teaching fields attend HBCUs.

“On more than 100 small and mid size campuses across this nations, our historically black colleges and universities have responded to the call to produce students who can think critically, integrate knowledge and then communicate that knowledge clearly to others,” said Dr. Mary Evans Sias, president of Kentucky State University. “They have taught students to care about the problems facing our communities and to use technology and innovation to help solve those problems.  KSU and other HBCUs take the terror of poverty, hunger, fear and hopelessness and turn it into hope.”

As one of the nation’s flagship historically black universities Fisk has tremendous outcomes relative to its resources,” said the Honorable Hazel O’Leary, the former U.S. Energy Secretary and the president. “While Fisk is known for producing some of the most thoughtful and globally engaged persons in the 19th and 20th Centuries, its 21st Century legacy has been and will be the matriculation and education of students who, at least statistically, are not expected to earn a college degree.”

Dr. Dorothy Cowser Yancy, president of Johnson C. Smith University in North Carolina underscored why enhancing educational opportunities at HBCUs is critical to the nation’s economic competitiveness: “Educational preparation resulting in higher income levels strengthens American society by creating productive citizens and the financial and human costs associated with uneducated, unproductive and non-participating citizens in the American enterprise. The average African American with a bachelor’s degree will earn $1.7 million, while the average African American with a high school diploma will earn about $1 million. Continued investment in HBCUs is good for the HBCU community, good for the nation and good for the world.”

Witnesses also discussed the challenges that many HBCUs continue to face, including limited resources and endowments, and unequal treatment from some state governments when compared to other institutions of higher education.  

“Each campus continues to have very serious capital needs for renovation and replacement of existing buildings, as well as new facilities and equipment,” said Dr. Earl S. Richardson, president of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. “All of which hinders their ability to attract new students and otherwise accomplish their significant roles and missions.”

Raymond C. Pierce, Dean and Professor of Law at North Carolina Central University and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, discussed several cases where states were found in violation of federal civil rights laws. He also expressed concerns that the Office of Civil Rights under the Bush administration wasn’t doing enough to root out states’ discriminatory treatment of HBCUs: “Since leaving OCR I have repeatedly been made aware of grave concerns expressed by Black College Presidents and alumni regarding actions by states in recent years that are adverse to the letter and spirit of federal desegregation policy and the various settlement agreements.”

The newly enacted College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which was developed by Education and Labor Committee, will provide an investment of $510 million in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving schools over the next two years.

In addition, in February 2008, the House passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, H.R. 4137, which would increase the amount of funding HBCUs could receive for capital projects, such as repairs. The bill also would expand funding eligibility for graduate student programs at HBCUs and other minority serving institutions and would address the challenges of starting and growing endowments at these schools.

For more information on today’s hearing, click here.

For more information on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, click here.

For more information on the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, click here.

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