ATLANTA (AP) – Two recent high-profile faculty appointments could be a fundraising and enrollment bonanza for Howard University, one of the nation’s most prestigious Black colleges. Many other Black schools are not so fortunate; in fact, many are struggling.
Some, especially smaller private colleges, have been fighting for their survival for years, with weak endowments, aging buildings and steady enrollment declines, all made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
“While larger HBCUs often have the funding resources necessary to attract accomplished talent like Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ta-Nehisi Coates, many smaller institutions need donors to step forward, contributing much-needed financial resources for us to compete,” said Dr. Paulette Dillard, president of Shaw University, a private Black university in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Hannah-Jones accepted a faculty position at Howard amid controversy over whether she would be granted tenure at the University of North Carolina after critics questioned her credentials, specifically her Pulitzer Prize-winning work “The 1619 Project,” which traces the country’s history with slavery. Coates, a Howard graduate, is a journalist and best-selling author who also recently joined Howard’s faculty.
Billions of dollars in federal virus relief will help higher education, but it may not be enough to change the long-term fortunes of some historically Black schools. An Associated Press analysis of enrollment and endowment data shows wide disparities among 102 historically Black colleges and universities, and a further divide between private and public institutions.