TMCF Statement on HBCU Investments in the Biden Administration
2024年5月18日 - 12:00AM
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) expresses its
appreciation for the historic investments and tremendous strides
that the Biden Administration has made over the past three years as
it relates to its support of Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs).
“The Biden Administration, unlike any other
presidential administration before it, has broken barriers
regarding being intentional about investing in HBCUs and their
students,” said TMCF President and CEO Dr. Harry L. Williams.
“Both the President and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona have
been cognizant about providing the requisite support to address our
unique challenges while also leveraging our strengths in ways that
benefit the nation as a whole.”
Over the course of the past three years, through
the work of the Biden Administration with the support of Congress,
HBCUs have seen tremendous progress as it relates to increases in
Title III discretionary funding, which supports capacity building
efforts at HBCUs. Additionally, the Biden Administration has
consistently requested significant increases in the President’s
recommended budgets for all student aid programs including the Pell
grant program, Work Study program and the Federal Supplemental
Equal Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) program. Increases in these
programs, while benefiting low-income students regardless of where
they attend, have an outsized impact on HBCUs, who specialize in
serving students with high levels of financial need.
In regards to research investment, the
administration is to be specifically applauded for making history
by awarding the first-ever University Affiliated Research Center
(UARC) to Howard University in 2023 and for developing and
advocating for the HBCU MSI Research and Development Infrastructure
fund which has invested $50 million dollars each of the last two
years into the research infrastructure at HBCUs and Minority
Serving Institutions. The administration is also to be lauded
for its engagement on the issue of the historic underfunding of our
publicly-supported HBCUs at a state level, which is a problem most
acute at, but not unique to our 1890 Land-Grant institutions.
Beyond these accomplishments, there are several
areas in which we hope to continue to work with the Biden
Administration going forward, including with respect to the policy
proposal to require all universities with over a $1 billion
endowment to subcontract at least 10% of their federal contracts
with an HBCU or MSI. More active engagement of our schools in
the federal government’s research and development (R&D)
enterprise is critical to ensuring institutional sustainability and
keeping our nation globally competitive in the second half of the
21st Century.
We also look forward to continuing the momentum
towards the goal of doubling the Pell Grant despite such funding
being held flat for 2024-25 academic year, particularly given the
recent inflationary pressures forcing most schools to increase
tuition for the upcoming school year.
We look forward to continuing to work with the
Biden Administration and Congressional leadership on both sides of
the aisle for the continued benefit of HBCUs and their students
going forward.
About the Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall
College Fund (TMCF) is the nation’s largest organization
exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF member
schools include the publicly supported Historically Black Colleges
and Universities, Historically Black Community Colleges, and
Predominantly Black Institutions, enrolling nearly 80% of all
students attending Black colleges and universities. Through
scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives,
innovative programs, and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital
resource in the K-12 and higher education space. The organization
is also the source of top employers seeking top talent for
competitive internships and good jobs. TMCF is a 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt, charitable organization. For more information about
TMCF, visit www.tmcf.org.
Dr. Clara Ross Stamps
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund
240-931-0696
clara.stamps@tmcf.org