On February 26, President Obama signed an executive order renewing the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). At the event, held in the East Room of the White House, the President spoke about the importance of the Nation’s 105 HBCUs, which serve more than 300,000 students. The policy states:

“Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have made historic and ongoing contributions to the general welfare and prosperity of our country. Established by visionary leaders, America’s HBCUs have, for over 150 years, produced many of the Nation’s leaders in business, government, academia, and the military and have provided generations of American men and women with hope and educational opportunity.

The Nation’s 105 HBCUs are located in 20 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and serve more than 300,000 undergraduate and graduate students. These institutions continue to be important engines of economic growth and community service, and they are proven ladders of intergenerational advancement for men and women of all ethnic, racial, and economic backgrounds, especially African-Americans.

These institutions also produce a high number of baccalaureate recipients who go on to assume leadership and service roles in their communities and who successfully complete graduate and professional degree programs.

Provisions in the the Executive Order include:

 

Establishes the White House Initiative on HBCUs
The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Initiative), is to be housed in the Department of Education (Department).

Establishes a President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs

• William R. Harvey, Chair has served as president of Hampton University since 1978.
• Lawrence S. Bacow has served as the president of Tufts University since 2001.
• Evelynn M. Hammonds is Dean of Harvard College and the Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University.
• Demetria Henderson is currently a 2010 Corps Member for Teach for America Inc. She is also a recent graduate of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU).
• Beverly Wade Hogan was named president of Tougaloo College in 2002.
• Edward Lewis is the co-founder of Essence magazine and chairman and publisher emeritus of Essence Communications Inc.
• Renée Mauborgne is the co-director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute and Affiliate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD, the world's second largest business school located in Fontainebleau, France.
• Helen T. McAlpine has been the president of J. F. Drake State Technical College since 2000. President McAlpine has over 38 years of experience in the field of education.
• Valerie Mosley is a senior vice president, partner, and portfolio manager for Wellington Management Company, LLP, a $540 billion global investment firm.
• Willie Pearson, Jr., is a professor of sociology at the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of History, Technology, and Society.
• Alma Powell is the Chair of America's Promise Alliance, which seeks to enhance partnerships to ensure that students are prepared for college and work.
• John Rice founded Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) in 1994 and has served as its CEO since 2001.
• Diane Boardley Suber is the tenth president of Saint Augustine's College. She assumed the presidency of the college in December 1999.
• Beverly Daniel Tatum became the ninth president of Spelman College in 2002.
• Kenneth Tolson is the executive senior vice president and chief operating officer and iInnovation transformation officer for the Emerging Technology Consortium, a division of TBED21.
• David Wilson, president, Morgan State University, has over 31 years of experience in higher education from leading colleges and universities across the country.

How HBCUs will benefit from the White House 2011 Fiscal Budget:

• $98 million in new money for HBCUs at the Department of Education
• $20.5 million for the HBCU Capital Financing program
• $64.5 million for the Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institution program
• $103 million for a comprehensive science and technology workforce program at the National Science Foundation
• An increase in the Pell Grant maximum award to $5,710 in 2011

Source: U.S. Department of Education, www.whitehouse.gov,Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy