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HBCU Reconstruction
By Charlie Nelms
The American system of higher education is a diverse mosaic of
institutions offering broad access and a great deal of choice. In the
two decades from 1984 to 2004, the minority student population in the
United States grew by 146 percent to about 5 million, or one-third of
all college students. To accommodate this population growth, an
increasing number of colleges and universities have been founded as, or
transformed into, minority-serving institutions (MSIs).
To be classified as an MSI, the student body representation of
Hispanic, African-American, American Indian/Alaskan native, or
Asian/Pacific Islander, students must be at least 25 percent. In less
than 5 percent of cases, MSIs present with no dominant ethnic
representation but report a minority enrollment of 50 percent or
greater. MSIs account for approximately one-third of all colleges and
universities—a total of 1,254 institutions in 2004—but they
enroll nearly 60 percent, or 3 million, of America’s minority
students.
Two types of MSIs are precluded from growing by federal legislation.3
These are the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs),
constrained by definition as those colleges established prior to 1964
for the purpose of educating African Americans; and tribal colleges and
universities. They account for 5 percent and 1 percent of total minority
enrollment, respectively.
Given that, the growth of MSIs primarily is caused by the expansion
of institutions serving blacks outside of the HBCUs and those serving
Hispanic students.4 The number of black-serving, non-HBCUs more than
doubled and the number of Hispanic-serving colleges and universities
increased more than six-fold from 1984 to 2004.
Although minority-serving institutions are often grouped together,
the differences among them defy simple characterization. Within the mix
of MSIs, HBCUs play a crucial role in ensuring access and success for
black students, many of whom are from low-wealth and educationally
disadvantaged backgrounds. As chancellor of the nation's first public
liberal arts college for African Americans, I am convinced that HBCUs
have played and must continue to play a pivotal role in American higher
education. . . .
Excerpted from the winter 2010 issue of The Presidency.
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| The Presidency, winter 2010, Charlie Nelms |
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