The Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized and delivered historic levels of investment and support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs) and President Biden's Build Back Better Act will continue to address longstanding disparities in funding for these institutions.
In November, Presidents and Chancellors from 65 Historically Black Colleges and Universities sent a letter to the United States Senate calling for swift passage of the President's Build Back Better plan which provides $10 billion for HBCUs, HSIs and MSIs.
In the letter, HBCU leaders highlighted the unprecedented impact this legislation would have on students and communities across the nation.
Here's a sample of what Americans are reading and hearing about the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to support HBCUs.
- Associated Press: Black college leaders support Biden plan in letter
More than 50 historically Black college and university leaders are asking the Senate to pass President Joe Biden's Build Back Better spending plan, saying the funds help Black students achieve the American dream.
To ensure the bill's passing, HBCU presidents sent the letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to pass what they believe is a down payment on the investment of Black Americans and a country full of talented citizens.
- Black Entertainment Television: Dozens of HBCU Leaders Urge Senate To Pass $2 Trillion Build Back Better Act
Biden's investment in HBCUs included the American Rescue Plan and other pandemic relief funds that provided nearly $3.7 billion in relief funding to HBCUs. That was in addition to approximately $1.6 billion in debt relief to 45 HBCUs (13 public institutions and 32 private institutions). The HBCU leaders acknowledged that the administration and federal lawmakers have, of late, worked toward correcting the historic underfunding of their schools. "But it requires a sustained, intentional effort to correct nearly 200 years of inequity," they underscored.
- Black Information Network: 65 HBCU Leaders Urge Senate To Pass $2 Trillion Build Back Better Act
If such legislation was passed, HBCUs would receive the much-needed funding that they have requested throughout the most recent presidential campaign and early stages of the Biden administration.
"We fully understand and appreciate the commitment that Joe Biden and the Senate and House can have towards our HBCUs and we're energized to work more closely together given the leadership of Dr. Tony Allen, who is the President of Delaware State [University] and the head of [President Biden's] Advisory Board on HBCUs," said Dr. Makola Abdullah, President of Virginia State University
An outspoken advocate for equitable HBCU funding, Dillard University President Walter Kimbrough told the outlet that the proposed funds as a part of the Build Back Better proposal are a "good first step" for investment in HBCUs.
If passed, the bill would allow HBCUs to upgrade their facilities, which [Tony] Allen says would help the institutions attract "quality faculty talent," which has sometimes been "inhibited by the fact that we don't have the best workspaces for them all the time." And, Allen said, it would promote social mobility by boosting the capacity for the institutions to serve their students.
- The Grio: HBCU presidents demand seat at the table as they push Congress for billions in BBB funding
The Biden-Harris White House has made efforts to support HBCUs beyond its proposed investments through outreach, including holding monthly HBCU student journalist briefings at the White House. Previous briefings allowed HBCU student journalists to pose questions to senior Black members of the Biden administration, Cedric Richmond, senior advisor to the president and director of public engagement, and Karine Jean-Pierre, White House deputy press secretary.
To this point, a recent study from the United Negro College Fund found HBCUs are the "primary post-secondary driver for moving Black Americans from poverty to the middle class." Build Back Better, the higher education officials added, represents "a significant down payment on investment in an American future full of talented citizens who are not inhibited by where they come from or what they look like."
- TMZ Live: President Biden's Promise to HBCUs
"Historically, we've been supported on both the Democratic and Republican side and we expect that the bill will pass and continue what I think has been the good work, particularly over the last three or four years that have been specific to HBCUs, but most notably in the first year of the Biden administration," said Dr. Tony Allen, President of Delaware State University.
- Joe Madison The Black Eagle: "A Real Game Changer": Dr. Thomas K. Hudson On How Build Back Better Impacts HBCUs
"The Build Back Better Act is going to have a significant impact on HBCUs and Jackson State University in particular," said Dr. Thomas K. Hudson, President of Jackson State University.
- Ryan Cameron Uncensored: HBCU's & Build Back Better: Morehouse President Dr. David Thomas Talks With Ryan Cameron Uncensored
The most obvious and impactful part of it for us is that this bill really recognizes the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Minority Serving Institutions in our country and their unique role in addressing some of the larger aims in our society such as closing the wealth gap," said Dr. David A. Thomas, President of Morehouse College.
- WMDT (47 ABC) Delmarva: HBCU's write letter to encourage passing the Build Back Better bill
If the bill passes, it would invest $10 billion into HBCU's, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Minority-Serving Institutions, with money for research and infrastructure. "For us, here at UMES we are talking about embarking at looking at having a veterinary science program on our campus, and this would be the only public HBCU veterinary science program in the country," Dr. [Heidi] Anderson, President of University of Maryland Eastern Shore said.
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., ICYMI: HBCU Leaders Call for Passage of Build Back Better Legislation Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/353787