HBCU Buzz: Let’s Talk About Underfunding at HBCUs

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From HBCU Buzz …

It’s no secret that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have produced some of the greatest leaders, thinkers, and creators the world has seen. Almost 20 percent of all Black college graduates come from HBCUs, as well as 25 percent of Black graduates in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. HBCU alumni also make up half of Black lawyers and doctors and roughly 80 percent of black judges. HBCUs produce so much excellence yet continue to be chronically underfunded in comparison to their predominantly white counterparts.

“HBCUs have absolutely faced decades, and for some over a century, of underfunding from both federal and state governments,” Kayla Elliott, director of higher education policy at The Education Trust said. 

Research shows that HBCUs also receive lower philanthropic funding as well. A recent study — conducted by the philanthropic research group Candid and ABFE, a nonprofit that advocates for investments in Black communities – found that the average HBCU received 178 times less funding from foundations than the average Ivy League school in 2019

Additionally, HBCU endowments are a fraction of the size of those of predominantly white schools, according to Forbes.  The magazine found that in 2020, the average endowment at the 18 white land-grant schools was $1.9 billion while at the Black colleges, it was $34 million. The magazine found that in 2020, the average endowment at the 18 white land-grant schools was $1.9 billion while at the Black colleges, it was $34 million.

Without proper funding, HBCUs are prone to experience deferred maintenance on buildings, lower scholarship offerings and financial aid packages for students, and lower salaries for teachers. 

According to an investigation conducted by Forbes, the nation’s Black land-grant universities have been underfunded by at least $12.8 billion over the last three decades compared to their predominantly white counterparts. 

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