As a new school year begins, historically black colleges have been making news.
The United Negro College Fund sent a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Andrew Bremberg, the White House domestic policy council director, on August 23, asking them to postpone a conference between leaders of HBCUs and the Administration until it demonstrates a commitment to such institutions.
The UNCF said the meeting should not be held until a director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs is in place and the administration has developed a “meaningful plan of actions with concrete commitments to invest in and advance HBCUs.” Leaders of HBCUs met with the president in the Oval Office on February 27 in a highly publicized photo op but have little to show for it.
Meanwhile, Cheyney University won a chance for survival after the Pennsylvania state university system agreed to forgive $30 million in loans if the university balances its budget for the next four years.
The reprieve will allow the nation’s oldest historically black university, founded in 1837, to maintain its accreditation.
“Cheyney University cannot survive without accreditation, period,” Cynthia D. Shapira, chair of the board of governors, said. “And today’s serious actions give Cheyney the path forward.”
Howard University also made news by inviting former FBI Director James Comey to deliver the keynote speech at its opening convocation to welcome the class of 2021 on Sept. 22 and appointing him to fill its endowed chair in public policy for the school year. In that post, he will deliver a series of lectures to the Howard community. Comey plans to donate $100,000 he would receive from the endowment fund to a scholarship fund for Howard students who have been in foster care, according to the university.
