20 Things Trump Needs to Know About HBCUs

There are reports that President Trump could be working on an Executive Order for Historically black colleges and universities.  Before he issues the executive order, there are a few facts that would be helpful for him to know. HBCUs are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African American community. They have always allowed admission to students of all races.

20 FACTS ABOUT HBCUs

• There are at least 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States of America. Many of those HBCUs were founded by former slaves and churches to educate the children of former slaves and integrate them into predominantly white society. Some college were constructed with the assistance of wealthy white philanthropists.
• HBCUs educate 20% of all African American college graduates.
• HBCUs contribute 10.2BN impact to the overall US economy
• 80% black judges graduated from an HBCU
• 70% of black US dentists are graduates of HBCUs
• 50% of all black engineers are graduates of HBCUs
• 40% of African-American members of Congress are HBCU alumni
• 50% of black professors at euro- American universities are HBCU grads
• 50% of black lawyers graduated from an HBCU
• 50% of US black teachers attended an HBCUs
• 21 of the top 50 institutions for educating African-American graduates who go on to receive their doctorates in science and engineering, are HBCUs
• HBCUs make up just 3 % of colleges and universities in the US yet they produce 27 % of African-American students with bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields
• African-Americans received just 7.6 % of all STEM bachelor’s degrees and 4.5 % of doctorates in STEM
• In 2011, 11 % of the workforce was black, while 6 percent of STEM workers were black (up from 2 percent in 1970)
• the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that , the top 10 HBCU endowments range from $38 million to $586 million, while the top 10 PWI endowments range from $6 billion to $32 billion
• Endowment gap doubled in the last 20 years
• 75% of students at HBCUs rely on Pell Grants and nearly 13% rely on PLUS Loans to meet their college expenses.
• Xavier University, an HBCU, awards more undergraduate degrees in the biological and physical sciences to African-American students than any other university in the USA.
• North Carolina A&T State University graduates the most black engineers in the united States of America.
• 40% of HBCU students are non-African American

White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12232, which established a federal program “… to overcome the effects of discriminatory treatment and to strengthen and expand the capacity of historically black colleges and universities to provide quality education.”

In 1981, President Reagan, under Executive Order 12320, established the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which expanded the previous program and set into motion a government wide effort to strengthen our nation’s HBCUs. In 1989, President George Bush signed Executive Order 12677. This executive order established a Presidential Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to advise the president and the secretary of education on methods, programs, and strategies to strengthen these valued institutions.

In 1993, President William Jefferson Clinton signed Executive Order 12876. This executive order required for a senior level executive in each agency have oversight in implementing the order, and that the Office of Management and Budget be involved in monitoring implementation of the order.

On Feb. 12, 2002, President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13256. This executive order transferred the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to the Office of the Secretary within the U.S. Department of Education. Previously, the White House Initiative was housed in the Department’s Office of Postsecondary Education.

Sources: US Dept of Education & Ted Talks & Forbes