by Kelly A. Cherwin
Kelly Cherwin/HBCU Conference
The Biden-Harris Administration has made Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) a priority, with good reason. At yesterday’s plenary session of The Department of Education’s HBCU Week Conference, Neera Tanden, assistant to the president and director of the domestic policy council stated, “Historically Black Colleges and Universities are one of the biggest engines of economic development.” Tanden went on to say that supporting and investing in these institutions is not only helping those students succeed and helping the institutions thrive, but is benefitting society as a whole. The current administration has invested over $7 billion in support of HBCUs, more than any other administration.
It was a clear message this week — more work needs to be done, but the HBCU community is standing strong. Over 3,000 people registered for the Department of Education’s HBCU Week Conference with government agencies, non-profit supporters, students, staff, executive leaders, and an impressive 70 presidents from HBCUs in attendance to share their voices and support each other. The theme of the conference was Raising the Bar: Forging Excellence through Innovation and Leadership. Sessions were designed around the categories of career pathways and economic mobility, research and innovation, economic development, infrastructure, STEAM, and both emerging and executive leadership.
Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona addressed the HBCU conference community, stressing the commitment that he, his department, and the entire administration have to HBCUs and reminding us of the incredible outcomes achieved by HBCU graduates. He shared that HBCUs have produced 40% of black engineers, 50% of black teachers, 60% of black doctors, 80% of black judges, and 100% of black vice presidents. Without HBCUs, diversity in these vital careers wouldn’t be possible. Additionally, Cardona spoke about his team’s efforts to improve the K-12 educational system, and specifically, the teacher shortage in the United States. He said the department’s goal is to have more teachers standing in front of Black and Brown students who look like them. He called for better compensation, better working conditions, and more diversity in the pipeline to improve the system.
Tom Joyner, legendary radio personality, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, as well as CEO of the Tom Joyner Foundation, was also in attendance to raise awareness of his commitment to HBCUs through scholarships, endowments, and other support. His foundation has contributed over $65 million to historically black colleges and universities.
The conference continues today with more concurrent workshops and concludes on Thursday with a current student and recent graduate career fair.
