The Role of the Negro College in Retrospect and Prospect

Abstract

The role of each publicly-supported college will be determined in terms of its relationship as a part of system of public higher education of state in which it is located. West Virginia State College has already assumed role of providing higher education to a sizable percentage of white students as well as Negro students. On other hand, notwithstanding some desegregation in public higher education in Virginia, role of Virginia State College in minds of body which governs it and several colleges for whites is apparently to hold line against a too rapid influx of Negro students into colleges formerly for white students only. Other states with varying degrees of desegregation may assign certain areas of curricular emphasis to former Negro public college to dovetail with emphases at other public colleges in effort to offer a comprehensive state program. In last analysis, however, role of any given public institution will be subject to state policy and discussion which follows will be concerned primarily with role of privatelysupported college which at some former time had Negro students only and which I shall hereafter call the private Negro college. Several assumptions underlie this