Georgia, like many other states, is facing a budget shortfall of about $2.5 billion, according to the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute. To help cope with its money woes, the state's university system alone has to make at least $200 million in cuts, if not more. As the Georgia Senate chairman of the Higher Education Committee, Seth Harp…

Two years after Hurricane Katrina, faculty ranks at New Orleans' historically Black colleges remain noticeably shallower than before the floods. The languishing numbers mirror a decline in student enrollment. Xavier University of Louisiana's student head count, for instance, has lingered at about 73 percent of the pre-Katrina enrollment, a…

This historiography of gender and black colleges uncovers the omission of women and gender relations. It uses an integrative framework, conceptualized by Evelyn Nakano Glenn, that considers race and gender as mutually interconnected, revealing different results than might be seen by considering these issues independently. The article is…

This book presents the results and implications of a major new national study exploring the effects of institutional racial composition on African American students' development and their educational outcomes, taking into account individuals' background characteristics, their perceptions of the institutional environment, and their experiences in…

This article profiles Jackson State University, a historically Black school of more than 8,000 students located at the southern end of Jackson, Mississippi's majority-Black capital city. Founded in 1877, Jackson State has emerged as one of Mississippi's leading research institutions as well as one of the top HBCUs in the country for research. Its…

This article profiles Rev. Father Boniface Hardin, founder and leader of Martin University, the only predominantly Black University in Indiana that has served Indianapolis' poor, minority and adult learners for 30 years. In addition to running the university, Hardin has received dozens of awards and honors for his work in the community. The…

This practice brief is one of a series highlighting key practices undertaken by some of the many successful Building Engagement and Attainment for Minority Students (BEAMS) schools during the project's five years of data collection and action plan implementation. These practice briefs accompany a monograph that details the process BEAMS…

What happens in a final project that fosters teaching for understanding? That inquiry calls to mind the Taoist belief that emptiness makes a cup useful. In the context of this paper, the inquiry organizes a narrative about how teaching for understanding surfaced in a "Theories of Learning" course at Edward Waters College. At a deeper…

Addressing ongoing and costly deferred-maintenance needs is a challenge for any two- or four-year school. During an economically challenging time, many HBCUs have put energy efficiency and other green projects on the back burner. However, some are finding that deferred maintenance does not have to be a barrier to becoming green. Despite budget…

This paper presents data covering the representation of African Americans among physics and geoscience degree recipients at each stage of the educational system. The data were collected by several statistical agencies and are here provided in far more detail than has ever been available before. By placing all the data in one place, this paper…

Released in June, 2010, this publication features excerpts from presentations by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) trustees, chancellors and presidents as well as other education experts who candidly discuss issues surrounding accreditation at a unique meeting sponsored by the Southern Education Foundation. The Southern…

Though many smaller HBCUs are facing ongoing crises as funding and enrollment continue to dwindle, St. Philip's College in San Antonio has found a way to thrive. Founded in 1898 by the Episcopal Church as a sewing school for Black girls, St. Philip's has evolved into a comprehensive public community college with a for-credit enrollment exceeding…

Dwayne Ashley, president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), is an unruffled perfectionist who is never satisfied with the status quo. When a challenge presents itself, Ashley eagerly seeks out a solution. His motto: find a way or make one. This article describes Ashley's solution when he discovered that corporate America was not…

Beulah Heights University, a predominately African-American institution, specializes in reaching the adult student of average age 38. Most of these students have 9-to-5 jobs as well as family and church responsibilities. Seated in the classroom, there are pastors, teachers, church administrators, health care workers, salespersons, bank tellers,…

After a brief overview of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their historical development, the authors discuss how these colleges and universities were at the vanguard in terms of both access to higher education and diversity, long before these ideas were embraced by the academic mainstream. Despite a long history of…