Fueling education reform: historically black colleges are meeting a national science imperative.

The executive summary provides an overview of some of V&C's key recommendations regarding next steps in the effort to mobilize the biology community. It is, in essence, a call for national service. A publication discussing these recommendations and action items in more depth will be available later this year. Meanwhile, we highly recommend reading the Executive Summary of V&C, the NAS report (NAS, 2010), and a seminal article by Labov et al. (2010) summarizing the synergy created by these several reports on the changing nature of studies in biology and concomitant need to change biology education. Then, take action! Our hope is to see the formation of a community of biologists, similar to that forming in geology (Manduca et al., 2010): one that will advance biology undergraduate education so it truly reflects the discipline it serves.

Efforts to improve the Black science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) pipeline have focused on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs); however, this work generally fails to acknowledge men. This article characterized Black male receipts of bachelor's degrees from HBCUs in STEM fields between 1981 and 2009 using a gendered approach to challenge two paradigms: a White patriarchy that omits African American men in STEM research, and the gendered nature of racial disadvantage in STEM that focuses on women. The study recommended expanding research on the STEM pipeline by acknowledging the importance of ethnicity/race, gender, and academic field simultaneously.Keywords: STEM, African American men, historically Black colleges and universities, genderEven though they cling to patriarchy they are beginning to intuit that it is part of the problem. Lack of jobs, the unrewarding nature of paid labor, and the increased class power of women, has made it difficult for men who are not rich and powerful to know where they stand, (hooks, 2000, p. 71)IntroductionRhetoric and research related to expanding the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline implicitly references an antiquated White, male-female dichotomy. In this paradigm, STEM fields are associated with White men, academic rigor, and the manual labor associated with related work (Slaton, 2010). While this orientation undoubtedly marginalizes White women and women of color, it can also trivialize the experiences and outcomes of men of color in the context of the STEM pipeline. As hooks (2000) explained in the opening quote, men of lower socioeconomic strata can be challenged in a patriarchal context, like STEM, that devalues their racial group. This may be especially problematic in majority minority colleges, like historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).Expansion of the Black (or African American) STEM pipeline has disproportionately relied on HBCUs to improve Black participation in and completion of STEM degree programs (Chubin & May, 2003; Harvey & Williams, 1989). For example, in 2006 HBCUs conferred 22% of African American science and engineering bachelor's degrees on average (National Science Foundation, NSF, 2010). More than one quarter of Black STEM bachelor's degrees were awarded by HBCUs in seven fields that year: Agricultural Sciences (44.9%), Biological Sciences (32.3%), Computer Sciences (25.3%), Mathematics (32.8%), Chemistry (34.0%), Chemical Engineering (25.1%), and Physics (48.5%; NSF, 2010). Although the contribution of HBCUs to African American STEM bachelor's degree production has declined somewhat since the mid1970s, given that HBCUs represent about 3% of four-year postsecondary institutions and enroll near 20% of Black undergraduates, their contribution to Black STEM completion is laudable.Despite the success by HBCUs, African Americans remain underrepresented among STEM bachelor's degree recipients when compared to their enrollment in bachelor's degree programs overall (NSF, 2010). For example, African Americans represented approximately 15% of all undergraduates enrolled in four-year institutions, 10% of all bachelor's degree recipients in 2008, and accounted for 11% of all STEM bachelor's degrees conferred in that same year (NCES, 2011). Given this underrepresentation among STEM bachelor's degree recipients, and the relative success of HBCUs in promoting African American STEM completion, continued consideration of these institutions is relevant and necessary to improve the Black STEM pipeline.The extant literature on the Black STEM pipeline at HBCUs has by and large failed to consider the role of gender at these institutions. While there is research on African Americans in STEM at HBCUs, and African American female achievement in STEM at HBCUs (e.g., Perna et al., 2009), there is little known about Black men in STEM at HBCUs. In fact, characterizations of STEM success at HBCUs often focus on aggregate institution-level data at HBCUs in comparison to predominately White institutions (PWIs). …

On July 15–17, 2009, 544 biology faculty from 2- and 4-year colleges and universities, along with researchers, administrators, students, and other educational stakeholders from around the country, met in Washington, DC, to help create a blueprint for the future of undergraduate biology education (Summers, 2009 ). Hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the meeting set out to mobilize the nation's undergraduate biology educators to ensure that the biology they teach in their classrooms reflects the biology they practice in the lab and field, and that all students—majors and nonmajors alike—gain a better understanding of the nature of science and the natural world (Mervis, 2009 ). The charge for the meeting (Transforming Undergraduate Education in Biology: Mobilizing the Community for Change) noted that the need for change reflects the radical changes in the science itself as well as the knowledge we are gaining about how people learn and the best ways to ensure that learning takes place. The meeting concentrated on how people have effected change, the results when they did so, and how the attendees and their colleagues could most effectively incorporate this knowledge and understanding into their own approaches to undergraduate education in biology. Videos, slides, and other materials from the meeting are posted at the conference website (AAAS, 2009a ). A culminating summary publication is anticipated in spring 2010.

PULSE Vision & Change Rubrics

Introduction Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have long been an intellectual resource for the African American community. HBCUs have provided and continue to provide an educational pathway for many African American students, particularly women who seek advanced degrees. From 2003 through 2007 seven of the top ten colleges that awarded bachelor's degree in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to African Americans were HBCUs (NSF, 2009a). In addition, the top ten baccalaureate institutions of doctoral degree recipients between 2003 to 2007 were all HBCUs (NSF, 2009b). Despite the overwhelmingly positive presence of HBCUs in the African American community, the academic training of students who graduate from HBCUs is often perceived as insufficient by Predominantly White Graduate Institutions (PWIs) and their faculty (Kim & Conrad, 2006). As a result, African American students from HBCUs that move on to attend PWIs for graduate education may not be well integrated into their respective departmental communities and cultures, and may be perceived as less-skilled (Burgess, 1997; Kim & Conrad, 2006). They are also likely to leave graduate programs within the key transition period of the first two years (Herzig, 2004; Tinto, 1993). HBCUs and majority White research institutions are known to exhibit cultural differences (Weidman, Twale, & Stein, 2001). At HBCUs at the undergraduate level, associations and involvement are university-wide (across disciplines and respective academic units), and the culture is perceived to be open and encouraging from the time the students step on to campus (Perna, Lundy-Wagner, Drezner, Gasman, Yoon, Bose & Gary, 2009; St. John, 2000). In contrast, PWIs have been described as places where faculty are indifferent, where little advice is offered, where students are expected to work independently, and where students associate almost exclusively within their respective departments (Morelle, 1996). Thus while HBCUs may provide the support and grounding that engages their students academically and launches their pursuit of higher degrees, they may not prepare them to meet the climate they face upon reaching their graduate programs. To understand the fundamental characteristics of HBCUs and why they differ from PWIs, it is helpful to first consider the six goals that serve as their framework: 1) the maintenance of the Black culture and historical traditions; 2) the creation and retention of Black leadership within the HBCU; 3) the commitment to being an economic unit within the community in which each school respectively stands; 4) the creation of Black role models to interpret the dynamics that impact other Black people outside of the college community; 5) the creation of leaders that are confident and competent in their dealing with of issues that affect all people; and 6) the creation of change agents that can conduct research, training, and disseminate information benefiting everyday lives of all minority communities (Brown & Davis, 2001). Although all HBCUs are not alike, their cultural traditions are such that they all intuitively enforce the belief that the goal of education should be couched in terms of responsibility (Mays, 1942). HBCUs consider themselves social agencies and social equalizers for students of color that have been denied access to higher education and marginalized in society. The purpose of this paper is to present the experiences of African American women who transition from HBCUs to majority institutions in STEM fields and what impact this transition has on their persistence and commitment to their disciplines. Specifically this article is the result of a case study inquiry focused on the experiences of six African-American female students who transition from undergraduate studies at HBCUs to graduate studies (during the first two years) in mathematics and chemistry at PWIs. …

Engaging voices

Black women are disproportionately impacted by chronic illness and are significantly more likely to experience severe morbidity and mortality as a consequence of pregnancy and childbirth.1, 2 As seen in a myriad of stories on maternal death and "near misses", Black women often experience maltreatment in clinical settings.3-5 With rising national media and scientific attention to the depth of racial inequities, Black maternal health has emerged as a priority for government and private funders.6-9 Providing financial support for maternal health research and programming is necessary, but insufficient, in eliminating disparate outcomes. There must be intentional, sustainable investments in the people best able to understand: Black women. Absent from the current landscape is a robust, well-supported cadre of Black maternal health scholar-activists who combine scientific and policy knowledge with the socio-cultural expertise that accompanies lived experience. Federal research institutes and private sector funders in the United States have acknowledged preventable inequities and have dedicated resources to identify causes, mechanisms of influence, and solutions for reducing disparate outcomes.7, 8 However, the conceptualization, design, and conduct of these studies (as well as funding decisions to support them) occur primarily among White researchers, which plausibly limits reductions in inequities.10 Specific investments in the educational trajectory of Black women are urgent and necessary to further enhance the quality, diversity, and impact of the maternal child health (MCH) field. The Public Health and MCH workforce needs to be further diversified with Black women scholar-activists because they are also culturally representative of the very populations at the greatest risk to experience maternal and infant health disparities. For example, Black women are 3.2 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related deaths compared to their White counterparts, and these disparities increase with age to 4–5 times more likely.11 Simultaneously, research demonstrates that when Black newborns are cared for by Black physicians, their mortality rate as compared to White infants is cut in half.12 By increasing the MCH workforce to include Black women scholar-activists and health care providers, the likelihood for improvement in health inequities increases. The goal of this commentary is to provide: (1) a brief overview of challenges Black women encounter on the path to and within science careers, (2) examples of successful approaches used to overcome these challenges, and (3) an urgent call to action for the field to commit to the training and development of Black women scholars in public and maternal health with the goal of eliminating maternal health inequities. In a similar manner to how structural racism and sexism produce adverse outcomes in labor and delivery,13-15 these same mechanisms also produce unfavorable outcomes for Black women in academia. At every level of the professional path to a career in scientific research, Black women consistently face bias: unwarranted and seemingly unavoidable experiences that make it more challenging for them to enroll in and graduate from school. For example, Black women describe experiencing isolation, invisibility, exclusion, pressure to continuously prove themselves worthy, a lack of mentorship, and a lack of sponsorship throughout scholarship.16 In addition, after graduation, they are often met with structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal challenges in obtaining, managing, and remaining in research-focused academic and other scientific positions.17 Obstacles include exclusion from collaborative opportunities, questioning of credentials and expertise by students and colleagues, criticism of their chosen outlets for publication, extra service requests and additional mentoring burden.18 Hindering the progression of Black women into high level leadership positions also presents barriers to the mentorship of burgeoning Black female scholars, thus continuing this pernicious cycle. Many training programs have been used to improve graduation and retention rates among Black students in higher education. These programs are of particular importance due to the evidence that Black students' experiences on college campuses have a significant impact on their academic longevity.19 For Black college students, factors such as the level of faculty support, availability of research-based programming, and feelings of institutional connectedness and belonging have dramatic effects on their personal and academic development and matriculation.19 The Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is an example of a training program that has successfully increased the numbers of Black undergraduate college students who succeed in science, mathematics, and engineering.20 Meyerhoff students were more than 10 times as likely than the historical African American sample to attend graduate school in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and almost two times as likely to attend medical school.20 Raising Achievement in Mathematics and Science scholar and similar programs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are used to improve retention and graduation rates among minority students specifically in the STEM fields.21 A study at Winston-Salem State University found that prior to the implementation of these training programs, graduation rates for full-time students were 17.8% in 2008 and for STEM majors it was 9.3%.21 With the programs in place, graduation rates increased dramatically. The Raising Achievement in Mathematics and Science scholar program participants had a 98.8% graduation rate over 4 years and 100% of the 2009 scholar cohort graduated in STEM and were enrolled in either MS/PhD graduate programs or professional schools.21 Spelman College also employs several programs to orient and support Black women students in STEM careers. Spelman has the Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement training program, which supports the career pursuits of women and underrepresented minorities interested in biomedical research.22 In addition, between 2015 and 2019, Spelman College was ranked by the National Science Foundation as the number 1 institution of origin for Black PhDs in STEM disciplines.23 These types of programs and the contributions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's) to the Black female scientific workforce emphasizes their importance and necessity in contributing toward the development and advancement of Black women in research and advocacy. The W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association Health Institute (also known as The Cobb Institute) is an organization that focuses on improving health inequities and addressing structural racism through research, education, and mentorship.24 The Cobb Scholars Program was launched in 2016 for senior residents, fellows, postdoctoral scientists, or early-stage investigators that come from underrepresented groups and are interested in biomedical and behavioral research.24 The scholars receive mentorship in leadership and research from interdisciplinary senior fellows which provides for collaboration and coaching across sectors to enrich their experience. Predominately White institutions can also help advance this goal. For example, the Pathways for Students into Health Professions program, housed within the University of California, Los Angeles campus, focuses on supporting underrepresented minority undergraduate students in MCH professions through the provisions of faculty mentorship, paid internships, and learning opportunities through various seminars.25 Although the program is not specifically built for Black students, it does prioritize students coming from non-dominant racial and ethnic groups, and research has found that students who completed the program were significantly more likely to report an interest in MCH topics and careers when compared to pre-enrollment.25 Many mentorship and training programs are open to those coming from other non-dominant racial and ethnic groups, as well as multiple gender identities.26 However, Black women often face different and distinct challenges as compared to their Black male counterparts or women of other racial backgrounds.27 Thus, there is a critical need to focus on the unique training and mentorship needs of Black women in academia. To bolster impacts within the MCH field, it would be useful to develop and implement programs to support Black women in their matriculation in public health, social sciences, and health care graduate programs with a focus on MCH research. There are a few graduate programs designed to support Black women in health care and health sciences that can be adapted for scholar-activists. For example, the Association of Black Women Physicians offers the Sister-to-Sister Mentoring Program that provides mentorship to Black women physicians, residents, and medical students.28 The program, Black Girl White Coat, is a social media mentorship initiative that hopes to provide further representation for groups that have been historically marginalized and oppressed.29 In addition, the ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Project of Jackson State University is a STEM mentorship program designed to support and empower Black women scholar-activists as well as provide a mentorship pipeline for early career scientists.30 Each of these programs aim to cultivate community and camaraderie among women who frequently, by nature of their racial and gender identity, are isolated in academic and professional settings. By adapting these mentorship programs to accommodate the needs of aspiring Black maternal health scholars, we can expand the support of early career professionals beyond undergraduate trainings. The profound impact of intentional investment in the form of mentorship, academic skill building, and providing opportunities for advocacy in the next generation of leaders cannot be overstated. This common thread among the following programs remain at the crux of the case for increased financial and programming support dedicated to the academic and career development of Black maternal health scholars. HBCU's must be central in the creation of a pipeline of leaders and scholars from historically underrepresented communities trained to work toward health equity in maternal health. For the past few years, Health Resources Services Administration through the Maternal and Child Health Bureau has formed an Alliance with 10 HBCU's to enhance the resources and expertise of faculty and students in HBCU's to address health inequities in MCH populations.31 The Alliance meets monthly to discuss strategies to strengthen research, outreach, advocacy, and services and has recently presented recommendations to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The Charles Drew University's Black Maternal Health Center of Excellence is one of the promising new programs underway that has been designed to address the persisting birthing disparities that disproportionately impact Black birthing people in Los Angeles County and the local Charles Drew community.32 The initiative names racism as a root cause to the disproportionately higher rates of infant and maternal death for Black birthing people countywide.33 In response to growing maternal morbidity and mortality rates in the state of Georgia, The Morehouse School of Medicine launched the Center for Maternal Health Equity in 2019.34 Their approach to tackling maternal health inequities is multifaceted; the Center utilizes research, workforce training, community engagement, and policy advocacy to improve reproductive justice.34 There is a paucity of evaluated programs tailored to meet the needs of Black women scholar-activists. However, many of the programs that currently exist offer foundations and frameworks that can be augmented to fit the needs of Black women and students within the MCH fields. The Diversity Scholars Leadership Program at the Boston University School of Public Health Center of Excellence in MCH is designed for students from underrepresented minority communities during their public health graduate studies in MCH.35 The National Birth Equity Collaborative is a Black-led organization that serves as a hands-on training program for promising scholars in the field.36 The Collaborative recruits interns from across multiple public health disciplines with experience in research, policy, training, advocacy, and community-centered work, with a commitment to reproductive justice and advancing birth equity.37 Founded in July 2020 during the dual pandemics of racism and COVID-19, The Maternal Outcomes for Translational Health Equity Research (MOTHER) Lab at Tufts University School of Medicine was created with two main goals: (1) to train, mentor, and engage bright scholars of color and White allies; and (2) to provide a research and training space to ensure scholars are supported as they prepare to go into their respective fields to dismantle systemic racism.38 Through a keen focus on the development of research skills, advocacy, and leadership among its students, the MOTHER Lab provides a framework for the development of maternal health scholars that can serve as model for other research labs housed in schools of public health or medicine. The MOTHER Lab is a unit within the newly formed Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice that houses faculty, staff, and students with a dedicated interest in addressing maternal health inequities. This center would contribute to immense progress in filling current gaps for mentorship, research, and sustainable change in this field.39 Research has shown that mentorship for students of color in White spaces are especially beneficial and can become a positive predictor component to their academic and professional futures; this center would provide training, research, and mentorship opportunities for scholars and providers in the field of Black maternal health equity.40, 41 Additionally, the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice and the MOTHER Lab scholarly program for maternal health students are founded and run by Black female scholars with lived experience, thus representing a unique opportunity to engage and train the next generation of leaders. Finally, policy agendas such as the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 (suite of 12 bills proposed in Congress), provide new and exciting ways to support the development of scholar-activists at the local, national, and state level that are dedicated to eliminating maternal mortality and morbidity in Black women.42 These 12 bills address current Black maternal health disparities through numerous distinct methods, but prominently include expanded funding for research on the topic and diversifying the MCH workforce as important methods. One of these bills (Protecting Moms Who Served Act of 2021) has been signed into law, while parts of several others have been partially incorporated in the proposed Build Back Better Act (Data to Save Moms Act, Kira Johnson Act, Maternal Health Pandemic Response Act of 2020, Perinatal Workforce Act, Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act, and the Tech to Save Moms Act).43 Unique obstacles encountered from secondary school and throughout graduate education contribute to a lack of adequate representation of Black women in public health. This ultimately leads to a lack of lived experience and scholarship of scholars from communities most affected by the Black maternal health crisis. Modeling the success of other heavily invested pipeline mentorship and training programs, increased support of burgeoning Black maternal health scholar-activists may help mitigate this issue. Furthermore, existing policies and proposed legislation to diversify the public health workforce create the platform needed to build out the investment in Black women scholars who can lead the movement for maternal health equity. The authors have no funding to report.

In 2012, President Barack Obama introduced a plan to increase the number of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates by 1 million over the next 10 years through the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology initiative (Seadler, 2012). Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) play a pivotal role in helping the United States of America achieve a national priority to expand careers in STEM disciplines. HBCUs graduate 40 percent of Black students graduating with degrees in biological science, physics, chemistry, astronomy, environment sciences and mathematics (Jackson, 2013; Owens et al., 2012; Palmer, Davis, & Thompson, 2010).The purpose of this article is to elucidate factors that are important to the long-term success of HBCUs in preparing STEM students, by summarizes data from the Minority Male STEM Initiative (MMSI), which was collected by The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). Although the surveys focused on the needs of minority males, both male and female STEM students participated in the surveys. The purpose of the MMSI surveys were to understand how university administrators, STEM faculty, and students of color in STEM disciplines currently navigate the path to recruiting, retaining and graduating underrepresented students in STEM disciplines.The original study focused on STEM students from 1,442 underrepresented students across 14 institutions, including 3 HBCUs. However, this report will outline findings that are relevant to HBCUs. Details of the survey instruments, procedures, methods of recruitment, and participants are available in A Quest for Excellence (Toldson & Esters, 2012). Survey results revealed a variety of characteristics and practices of the institutions, faculty, and administrators who prepare minority students for STEM fields.Lesson Learned from STEM Faculty and University AdministratorsContent analysis methods were used to summarize faculty members' and administrators' optional open-ended comments regarding their universities' commitment to recruiting, retaining and graduating minority students in STEM fields. The number of unique comments made about university practices were identified and then manually sorted into three broad categories: proactive practices, ambivalence or indifference, and obstructive practices. SPSS Text Analysis for Surveys was used to facilitate manual coding and sorting of the comments into more discrete categories.Recruitment and OutreachFaculty and administrators were asked to describe any recruitment or outreach activities by their institution specifically designed to encourage underrepresented students to consider a major and career in the STEM disciplines. Of the more than 200 faculty members and administrators who took the survey, only 33 provided a response to this inquiry.Institutions with proactive practices were able to list specific programs and initiatives that bolstered outreach efforts. Specific programs listed included the National Science Foundation (NSF) Bridge to the Doctorate Program, Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP), Upward Bound, and university-initiated minority programs. Many other university representatives gave statements that reiterated their commitment, which listed specific programs. Several respondents noted that they were not aware of any university initiatives to recruit students of color in STEM disciplines. Key terms included scholarships, mentors, faculty, community, research experiences, and learning community.Evaluating SuccessFaculty and administrators were asked how their institution evaluates the success of its efforts to attract, recruit, retain, and graduate students of color in STEM fields. In total, 43 participating faculty members and administrators responded to the inquiry. Most of the respondents who indicated that they have a formal evaluation process were mandated to collect data to maintain external funding. …

Today, 103 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) educate 135,722 male and 238,685 female students across the United States according to the most recent data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (Institute of Education Sciences & National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). Historically, HBCUs have played a vital role in enhancing the provision of educational opportunities for traditionally underrepresented groups. Since the 1830s, they have been instrumental in preparing Black people to make significant contributions to the economic, intellectual, and cultural landscape of the nation. Today, research has demonstrated that HBCUs graduates enjoy greater financial success in their careers (Price, Spriggs, & Swinton, 2011), and U.S. rankings consistently show that HBCUs are among the top producers of students who persist through graduate and professional school (Fletcher, 2013). My own research indicated that HBCUs are clearly superior to predominately White institutions (PWIs) in promoting positive student-faculty relationships and students' sense of belonging among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors (Toldson & Esters, 2012). Notwithstanding, many HBCUs have suffered financially due to declining enrollment, the economic recession and other fiscal challenges. Federal investment in HBCUs is critical for them to realize their respective missions, achieve long-term financial stability, and develop programs, policies, and practices that promote recruitment, retention, and graduation among the Black students they so diligently serve.First-Term AccomplishmentsOn February 26, 2010, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to continue the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Jawando, 2010). Later that year, in September, President Obama affirmed the role that HBCUs must play to help him to achieve his goal of having the United States lead the world among college graduates by 2020 (Sabochik, 2010). He also reiterated his commitment to HBCUs by announcing his plans to increase spending on HBCUs by $850 million over the next 10 years. William Jawando, of the White House Office of Public Engagement, also noted that President Obama's 2011 budget called for an annual increase in spending on Pell Grants; important because 50 percent of HBCU students qualify for Pell Grants (Jawando, 2010). Other federal level accomplishments which will benefit HBCUs include continuing support for TRIO programs and signing an executive order for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.Second-Term HopesDuring President Obama's second term, federal action will be necessary for HBCUs to strengthen efforts to recruit, retain, and graduate larger numbers of students. For recruiting, it will be essential for the White House Initiative on HBCUs to work closely with the new White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans to bolster efforts to prepare the 8,550,344 Black children currently enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade in the U.S. (Institute of Education Sciences & National Center for Education Statistics, 2012).From a policy standpoint, the federal government needs to address a the fiduciary responsibility of the state to provide public secondary educational options that meet the basic academic requirements of the same state's institutions of higher education, including public HBCUs. Coordinated efforts between the two White House initiatives could also address the growing trend of guidance counselors at predominately Black high schools advising qualified students to community colleges, and neglecting HBCUs.From a funding perspective, money allocated to HBCUs should be tied to deliverables that foster greater college persistence among Black students. Specifically, through budget allocations to the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, competitive awards should be expanded for HBCU faculty members who actively engage in research with students. …

African Modernism in America, 1947–1967

Ensuring that every student-from the wealthiest to the poorest and historically underserved-has access to a high-quality education is what our work is all about.... We aren't just talking the talk; we are awarding millions of dollars in grants to help institutions better serve minority students through variousprograms and services.-U.S. Secretary of Education Ame DuncanIntroductionEducational inequities that exist for African Americans underscore the need for education research programs and advocacy at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The Department of Education (ED) accounts for more revenue to HBCUs than any other federal agency-totaling more than $4.7 billion in 2013. ED is a multifaceted agency, and revenue to HBCUs comes from ED in many forms. The bulk of the funding is awarded to students to attend HBCUs in the form of grants and loans for qualifying students. ED also offers noncompetitive grants to HBCUs through the Strengthening HBCUs program. Also known as Title III, these noncompetitive awards, which are aimed at building the capacity of HBCUs, account for approximately $300 million of the revenue that ED awards to HBCUs.Any given year, HBCUs collectively receive between $600-$750 million from ED through grants and contracts. Because of the nature and purpose of many of the grant programs, HBCUs have been uniquely suited to receive funding from ED. The White House Initiative on HBCUs (WHIHBCUs) believes that increasing revenue to HBCUs from federal grants and contracts is vital to the long term sustainability of these institutions. By developing innovative proposals, working with HBCU liaisons at federal agencies and taking advantage of federal funding opportunities, HBCUs can increase the resources necessary to initiate and sustain vital programs.The U.S. Department of Education OverviewED's mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. This agency was created in 1980 by combining offices from several federal agencies. ED's 4,400 employees and $68 billion budget are dedicated to:* Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing, as well as, monitoring those funds;* Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research;* Focusing national attention on key educational issues; and* Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.For fiscal year (FY) 2016, President Obama requested $70.7 billion for ED; an increase of approximately $3.6 billion, or a 5.4 percent, in ED's discretionary funding from the previous year. ED's FY 2016 request budget targets four key areas (a) increasing equity and opportunity for all students; (b) expanding high-quality early learning programs; (c) supporting teachers and school leaders; and (d) improving access, affordability, and student outcomes in postsecondary education.According to the ED's budget proposal, improving college access and completion is an economic necessity and a moral imperative. Reclaiming the top spot in college completion is essential for maximizing both individual opportunity and our economic prosperity.White House Initiative on HBCUs' Liaison to the U.S. Department of EducationA liaison between the White House Initiative on HBCUs (WHIHBCUs) and ED works with the WHIHBCUs to organize efforts to strengthen the capacity of HBCUs through increased participation in appropriate federal programs and initiatives.Specifically, the HBCU liaison at ED helps the WHIHBCUs to:* Establish how the department or agency intends to increase the capacity of HBCUs to compete effectively for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements and to encourage HBCUs to participate in federal programs;* Identify federal programs and initiatives in which HBCUs may be either underserved or underused as national resources, and improve HBCUs' participation therein; and* Encourage public-sector, private-sector, and community involvement with improving the overall capacity of HBCUs. …

Purpose– The purpose of this article is to examine the salient literature on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with an overarching goal of setting a future research agenda for scholars interested in these institutions.Design/methodology/approach– This literature review is organized into two main sections: strengths and challenges. To move HBCUs forward, scholars need an understanding of these institutions’ strengths as well as those challenges that lie ahead.Findings– The major strengths include the value-added nature of the education provided by HBCUs (i.e. the willingness of HBCUs to educate “at-risk” students); affordability in terms of tuition; community engagement; leadership training of future generations; Afrocentric curricula and a competitive yet supportive learning environment, which is particularly beneficial in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields; a focus on teaching; and faculty and student diversity. The first half of this paper will focus on these strengths. These same national experts identified the challenges as low retention and graduation rates; lack of financial resources (especially for student scholarships and attracting faculty), and competition from historically White institutions (HWIs); the need for sustainable administrative leadership; lack of marketing of HBCU success stories; the pressures of desegregation and holding true to mission; the challenge of producing future scholars who care about the needs of HBCUs; small endowment size; and the persistent gender gaps in student enrollment. The second half of this paper will focus on these challenges.Practical implications– In addition, by identifying the strengths and challenges, researchers can assist practitioners at HBCUs as well as those in the policy and funding arenas in better understanding the needs of HBCUs.Social implications– The research on HBCUs has grown substantially over the past 30 years. However, this body of research still has substantial gaps and holes. If filled, many of these gaps and holes would lead to stronger institutions, greater knowledge on the impact of HBCUs and enhanced learning experiences for HBCU students. Many young scholars are interested in studying HBCUs but are often discouraged: when they approach their advisor with the topic, they are told it is not important and that their career will be limited by the topical choice. There is a lack of support within sections of the HBCU community for research that might uncover weaknesses or not treat HBCUs in an entirely favorable light. We encourage those interested in pursuing research related to HBCUs to find mentors who will support them in their pursuits.Originality/value– Although some of these topics and subsequent suggestions involve taking on controversial issues, it is important for individuals affiliated with and who care about HBCUs to conduct this research before uninformed outsiders do it (Gasman, 2006). There needs to be a concerted effort from HBCUs, HBCU faculty, HBCU scholar – practitioners and HBCU allies – the “insiders” and the “outsiders” – to ensure those closest to HBCUs have the opportunity to share their own voice, rather than simply have others speak for them. HBCU leaders and organizations that ignore negative data and institutional challenges do so at their own peril.

The Black College Mystique, by Charles V. Willie, Richard J. Reddick, and Ronald Brown. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. 160 pp. Cloth $60.00, ISBN 0-7425-4616-0; Paper $19.95, ISBN 0-7425-4617. The cohort of institutions federally designated as historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) represents a unique collegiate context in the corporate system called American higher education. Institutions founded prior to 1964 for the purpose of providing collegiate education to African Americans, HBCUs have a unique educational history compared to other postsecondary institutions in the United States. There are 103 public, private, four-year, and two-year HBCUs. In addition to those 103 HBCUs, there are approximately 50 predominantly Black institutions--institutions that have greater than 50% Black student enrollment, that were not founded primarily for the education of African American students, and that may or may not have been founded prior to 1964. HBCUs remain an indispensable part of the national higher education landscape. Despite all of the positive evidence relating to their successes and achievements, negative misconceptions and erroneous information continue to affect the image of HBCUs (Brown, Ricard, & Donahoo, 2004). In the introduction to a special issue of The Review of Higher Education focusing on empirical research on HBCUs, Brown and Freeman (2002) issued a clarion call for higher education researchers to document, describe, and detail these unique institutions. They stated, Historically colleges evince objectives, populations, philosophies, and environments which are worthy of scholarly investigation (p. 240). This call resulted in a number of book-length projects on the topic, each referring to Brown and Freeman's introduction: Brown and Freeman (2004), Ashley and Williams (2004), Samuels (2004), and now Willie, Reddick, and Brown (2006). The latter of these is the focus of this review. The Black College Mystique is somewhat authored by the father of Black college research, Charles Willie, and two of his students--Richard J. Reddick and Ronald Brown. Actually, three of the seven chapters are reprinted from seminal articles published by Willie in the 1970s. The volume hews back to many of the classic ideas offered about HBCUs during the last century. However, the book offers few new citations to publications on what we know about HBCUs as a result of the last decade of empirical research by scholars like Walter Allen, M. Christopher Brown, James Earl Davis, Len Foster, Kassie Freeman, Sharon Fries-Britt, Marybeth Gasman, Barbara Johnson, Charles Outcalt, and Albert Samuels. The Black College Mystique does not join the recent cavalcade of scholarship responding to the call to expand the extant research base on HBCUs. In fact, the book never defines the black college mystique, leaving the reader to wonder what it is, how it is relevant, or why the project was given this name. According to the preface, the volume has two overall findings: (1) HBCUs are essential to the national system of higher education, and (2) the mentoring of students by HBCU faculty is significantly greater than in all other institutions. It is extremely difficult to link either of the two findings to the research and/or logic offered in the volume. It is as if the findings were drafted before the volume was ever written. Despite its absence in The Black College Mystique, there is evidence of the essential role that Black colleges play on the postsecondary landscape, albeit not for the reasons Willie, Reddick, and Brown suggest related to racial homogeneity and heterogeneity. Recent literature speaks to the role of HBCUs in providing access and opportunity that could not otherwise be afforded to many African American, low-income, or undereducated students, as well as to other racial minorities (Brown, 1999; Brown & Davis, 2001; Wenglinsky, 1996, 1997). Despite common parlance that HBCUs are culturally more congenial living and learning communities, there is no empirical data on the role of HBCU faculty as superior mentors when controlling for institutional size (Brown, 1998). …

Reviewed by: The Black College Mystique M. Christopher Brown II The Black College Mystique, by Charles V. Willie, Richard J. Reddick, and Ronald Brown. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. 160 pp. Cloth $60.00, ISBN 0-7425-4616-0; Paper $19.95, ISBN 0-7425-4617. The cohort of institutions federally designated as historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) represents a unique collegiate context in the corporate system called American higher education. Institutions founded prior to 1964 for the purpose of providing collegiate education to African Americans, HBCUs have a unique educational history compared to other postsecondary institutions in the United States. There are 103 public, private, four-year, and two-year [End Page 604] HBCUs. In addition to those 103 HBCUs, there are approximately 50 predominantly Black institutions—institutions that have greater than 50% Black student enrollment, that were not founded primarily for the education of African American students, and that may or may not have been founded prior to 1964. HBCUs remain an indispensable part of the national higher education landscape. Despite all of the positive evidence relating to their successes and achievements, negative misconceptions and erroneous information continue to affect the image of HBCUs (Brown, Ricard, & Donahoo, 2004). In the introduction to a special issue of The Review of Higher Education focusing on empirical research on HBCUs, Brown and Freeman (2002) issued a clarion call for higher education researchers to document, describe, and detail these unique institutions. They stated, "Historically black colleges evince objectives, populations, philosophies, and environments which are worthy of scholarly investigation" (p. 240). This call resulted in a number of book-length projects on the topic, each referring to Brown and Freeman's introduction: Brown and Freeman (2004), Ashley and Williams (2004), Samuels (2004), and now Willie, Reddick, and Brown (2006). The latter of these is the focus of this review. The Black College Mystique is somewhat authored by the father of Black college research, Charles Willie, and two of his students—Richard J. Reddick and Ronald Brown. Actually, three of the seven chapters are reprinted from seminal articles published by Willie in the 1970s. The volume hews back to many of the classic ideas offered about HBCUs during the last century. However, the book offers few new citations to publications on what we know about HBCUs as a result of the last decade of empirical research by scholars like Walter Allen, M. Christopher Brown, James Earl Davis, Len Foster, Kassie Freeman, Sharon Fries-Britt, Marybeth Gasman, Barbara Johnson, Charles Outcalt, and Albert Samuels. The Black College Mystique does not join the recent cavalcade of scholarship responding to the call to expand the extant research base on HBCUs. In fact, the book never defines the "black college mystique," leaving the reader to wonder what it is, how it is relevant, or why the project was given this name. According to the preface, the volume has two overall findings: (1) HBCUs are essential to the national system of higher education, and (2) the mentoring of students by HBCU faculty is significantly greater than in all other institutions. It is extremely difficult to link either of the two findings to the research and/or logic offered in the volume. It is as if the findings were drafted before the volume was ever written. Despite its absence in The Black College Mystique, there is evidence of the essential role that Black colleges play on the postsecondary landscape, albeit not for the reasons Willie, Reddick, and Brown suggest related to racial homogeneity and heterogeneity. Recent literature speaks to the role of HBCUs in providing access and opportunity that could not otherwise be afforded to many African American, low-income, or undereducated students, as well as to other racial minorities (Brown, 1999; Brown & Davis, 2001; Wenglinsky, 1996, 1997). Despite common parlance that HBCUs are culturally more congenial living and learning communities, there is no empirical data on the role of HBCU faculty as superior mentors when controlling for institutional size (Brown, 1998). The issue of the intangible and dynamic cultural context of the Black college has been referenced anecdotally by numerous writers. However, prior to this [End Page 605] "treatise," no effort had been made to name or explain...

Enrollments of non-Black students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have recently increased (Drummond, 2000; T. Scott, 2004) to the point that 11% of all undergraduate students enrolled in HBCUs in 2001 were White (U. S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2004). HBCUs with the highest White enrollments tend to be public institutions (Brown, 2002), and court cases such as Adams v. Richardson (1972) and United States v. Fordice (1992) have compelled affected HBCUs to diversify their student bodies. Accelerated transdemographic enrollment patterns (Brown) at a number of public HBCUs have resulted as HBCUs grapple with simultaneous pressures to increase student enrollments (including enrollments of non-Black students), strengthen or maintain institutional quality, and clarify the contemporary functions of the HBCU (Hall & Clossen, 2005). At the same time, White males in the U.S. represent the race and gender group that is most privileged economically and socially; yet White males are arguably more disadvantaged with respect to developing as racial and gendered beings due to the socialization, entitlement, and privilege bestowed upon them within society (D. A. Scott & Robinson, 2001). Very little research examines the racial consciousness aspects of identity development of White students attending HBCUs where issues of race, gender, privilege, and power can intersect for students in ways that have not been systematically explored. The purpose of this study was to explore the White racial consciousness (WRC) among full-time, White male undergraduates attending a public, predominantly Black HBCU. Specifically, this study sought to understand how these students, as temporary students (Hall & Clossen, 2005), made meaning of their collegiate experiences in terms of WRC. Related Literature HBCUs were established to provide education for Black students at a time when segregation prevented their enrollment at many colleges and universities (Sissoko & Shiau, 2005). Although the 105 diverse public and private HBCUs enroll 2% of all college and university students in the U.S., they account for 13% of Black postsecondary enrollment (U. S. Department of Education NCES, 2004). In 2000-01, HBCUs conferred 22% of the baccalaureate degrees, 17% of first professional degrees, 11% of master's degrees, and 10% of doctoral degrees earned by Black individuals (National Center for Education Statistics). Allen (as cited in Brown & Davis, 2001) noted common mission-related characteristics of HBCUs including: provision of social, economic, and leadership opportunities for Blacks and the Black community; maintenance of Black historical and cultural traditions; and education of graduates who are uniquely qualified to articulate and interpret issues between minority and majority population groups (Brown & Davis). In recent years, court rulings (including Adams v. Richardson, 1973 and United States v. Fordice, 1992) that have impacted state systems of higher education focused on remedying lingering racial dicrimination and oppression in the forms of segregated enrollments and disparate institutional funding patterns. Adams v. Richardson exempted public HBCUs from Title VI enforcement of racial desegregation because HBCUs were deemed to play a unique and important role in the education of African Americans (Hobson's College View, n.d.), but the more recent United States v. Fordice did not similarly exempt these institutions. As a result, public universities including HBCUs have subsequently undertaken desegregation initiatives aimed at achieving transdemographic goals, or shifts in the racial composition of enrolled students that mark an institution as desegregated (Brown, 2002). Brown discussed relevant implications for HBCUs, noting that transdemography offers HBCUs the opportunity to both enrich the student campus context and encourage intercultural communication within the academic environment. …