As the president of Clark Atlanta University, Carlton Brown knows the problems plaguing the nation's historically black colleges and universities.
Like other public and private colleges, these institutions, known as HBCUs, struggle financially because of drops in endowments, cuts in state funding and increased demand by students for financial aid. They also face unique challenges as black students enroll elsewhere and are recruited by colleges that once barred them.
Brown and five other college presidents spoke Thursday about these challenges and also the opportunities before them as universities work to reach President Obama's goal to have the world's largest share of college graduates by 2020. To reach that target colleges must reach out to students who think college isn't for them. HBCUs have long provided students with a nurturing environment and often teach those who are the first in their families to go to college, Brown said.
"Yes, we're going after the same high-quality students as Georgia Tech and Georgia State, but the beauty of higher education in this country is that there is an institution for everyone," Brown said in an interview. "Part of college is being somewhere other than where students have always been. For some students, we are the largest collection of black students they've ever seen. But some students says they've never seen so many white folks."
Brown later participated in a round table discussion Thursday with other college presidents as part of the Southern Education Foundation's annual HBCU Governance and Institutional Effectiveness Seminar, which continues through Saturday in Atlanta.
Atlanta has some of the country's most prestigious HBCUs. The Atlanta University Center, which includes Clark Atlanta and Morehouse and Spelman colleges, is considered the nation’s largest contiguous consortium of blacks in higher education. Georgia is also home to Albany State, Fort Valley State and Savannah State universities, three public historically black colleges.
When HBCUs opened, they were the only option for black students. In 1960, 65 percent of black students attended historically black colleges. Today, only 12 percent do, although HBCUs award 30 percent of the baccalaureate degrees earned by all black students, federal data shows.
Walter Kimbrough, president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, said there is potential to have a greater reach but HBCUs must be more aggressive in setting the country's college completion agenda. The colleges must be "on the offensive" by explaining and substantiating their success, said Kimbrough, who graduated from Atlanta's Mays High School.
To play a critical role several college presidents said they must convince governments and philanthropic groups to invest in their schools.
Historically black schools tend to have lower endowments than other colleges, making less money available for scholarships. This money is critical as the colleges serve many low-income and first-generation students who need more financial aid and academic support if they are to graduate.
Several colleges struggled financially, including Atlanta's own Morris Brown College, which lost its accreditation in 2003 because of financial mismanagement and is struggling to pay down nearly $30 million in debt.
Financial concerns have led some politicians to recommend merging public HBCUs with other schools.
A Georgia lawmaker in 2008 suggested the University System merge Savannah State and Albany State with majority-white institutions. The move would save money and close an "ugly chapter" in the state's segregated history, Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland, said at the time. This spring leaders in Louisiana discussed merging Southern University at New Orleans, an HBCU, with traditionally white University of New Orleans, but later pulled the proposal.
Some students and employers seek out HBCUs.
Rashad Lewis started his college career at University of West Georgia, but transferred to an HBCU, North Carolina A&T State University, and graduated with a degree in biology last month.
"I was finally around people who looked like me, and that made me feel safe; and it made it easier to find out who I was," he said. "I just fit in there in a way I didn’t before."
Gaming companies, such as Electronic Arts, recruit graduates from Morehouse and Spelman. MetLife selects nine Clark Atlanta students to work as interns in their corporate headquarters each year and for the past three years hired each intern, Brown said.
College presidents said they're working to improve their outreach.
Less than half of Clark Atlanta's students come from Georgia, although the college attracts a steady stream of students from southern California, Brown said. Over the next couple of months the college will start advertising around metro Atlanta, he said. A big challenge was securing the money to advertise in the expensive market, he said.
"Money is the biggest piece of the puzzle," Brown said. "It's money, the tightness of money, more than anything else."
Georgia's HBCUs
A public or private college is considered an HBCU if was founded to educate black people before the Civil Rights Act of 1965. Georgia is home to the following:
Albany State University (Albany): Founded in 1903.
Clark Atlanta University (Atlanta): Founded in 1988 by merging Clark College (founded in 1869) and Atlanta University (founded in 1865).
Fort Valley State University (Fort Valley): Founded in 1895.
Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta): Founded in 1958, is a consortium of six seminaries and an at-large fellowship for students who are not affiliated with the six denominations.
Morehouse College (Atlanta): A men's college, founded in 1867.
Morehouse School of Medicine (Atlanta): Founded in 1975 as a program at Morehouse College and in 1981 became an independent college.
Morris Brown College (Atlanta): Founded in 1881.
Paine College (Augusta): Founded in 1882.
Savannah State University (Savannah): Founded in 1890.
Spelman College (Atlanta): A woman's college, founded in 1881.
Source: White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, college websites.
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