Page 7 - TMCF 2024 Annual Report

HBCUS CAN HELP REVERSE
THE BLACK COLLEGE ENROLLMENT RECESSION BY DR. HARRY L. WILLIAMS
Over the past decade, Black college and university enrollment has been dropping at alarming rates, declining 22% from 2010 and 2020. We can expect this recession of Black enrollment to continue in
the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision removing race as a consideration in college admissions. However, those who seek to create equal opportunity for everyone in America have overcome far greater obstacles before.
Though the arch of the moral universe may bend toward justice, it has never been a simple straight-line trajectory. Instead of succumbing to despair, leaders who value diversity and view it as a strength in our higher education institutions and corporations must step up.
Words of solidarity aren’t enough. We need action to help those who may be now left behind.
One of our strongest assets to reverse this trend are historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which are becoming even more important for Black students who may be overlooked elsewhere. HBCUs were founded to provide pathways for Black students who are left behind and they continue to play that vital role today. Despite only representing 3% of all four- year institutions, they graduate 17% of all bachelor’s degrees and 24% of all STEM-related bachelor’s degrees for Black students, enrolling more than twice as many Pell Grant-eligible students as non-HBCUs.
Charging tuition rates that are on average nearly 30% less than at comparable non-HBCUs, these schools are among the best return on our nation’s post secondary education investments. However, HBCUs have historically been underfunded and continue to
be. The U.S. Department of Education recently shared an analysis with 16 states that they have collectively underfunded their historically Black colleges by more than $12 billion. This shortfall will make it even more difficult for HBCUs to pick up the slack.
As the country’s largest champion of the Black
college community, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) has awarded more than $500 million in scholarships and leadership development to HBCU students. One example of this work includes the
TMCF and Wells Fargo scholarship that offers financial assistance to outstanding students attending one of 55 publicly supported HBCUs and predominantly Black institutions (PBIs).
Yet, we know that even this support is not sufficient to the challenge HBCUs face. A federal government
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