May’s blog “A Seat at the Table” incited a comment that at first shocked me, but thinking about the society we live in, I thought I would take that comment as a “teachable” moment. The comment is the title of this month’s blog “What the heck is an HBCU?”
This is a question that I did not anticipate coming from the blog where I suggested the need for a change in procurement policy that will result in government regulations that involve more Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in government contract solicitations.
I would definitely say that my initial reaction was to say in a world of google it could have taken a person once second to type in the letters H-B-C-U and come up with the answer. However, after speaking to one of my favorite prime contractors he said he only found out what an HBCU was a year ago, I decided the comment is worth addressing.
Wikipedia describes Historically Black Colleges and Universities as
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. This was because the overwhelming majority of predominantly white institutions of higher-learning disqualified African Americans from enrollment during segregation. There are 101 HBCUs in the United States, including public and private institutions. This figure is down from the 121 institutions that existed during the 1930s. Of these remaining HBCU institutions in the United States, 27 offer doctoral programs, 52 schools offer master's programs, 83 colleges offer bachelor's degree programs and 38 schools offer associate degrees.
So, in the world of government contracting, HBCUs offfer a special designation such has minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran-owned and HubZone businesses. They require business assistance on proposing and contracting in federal procurement just as the aforementioned businesses.
The new documentary, “Tell Them We are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities.” tells the story of how black colleges shaped America.
However, according to the Pew Research Center, 300,000 students attended HBCUs in 2015 and enrollment declined from 17 percent in 1980 to 9 percent in 2014, affecting tuition rates, loan affordability and endowments from alumni and other benefactors.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/28/a-look-at-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-as-howard-turns-150/
HBCUs rely heavily on federal funding, but it is time that we explore other options of funding, which is why it is critical to figure how HBCUs can benefit from the NASA goal of awarding one percent of contracts to HBCUs, as well as any other federal agency that HBCUs have not essentially tapped into.
What the heck is an HBCU? HBCUs do not only offer a special designation but they are rich in resources and capabilities. This is evident by the fact that Boeing invested $6 million in the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. HBCU partners include Alabama A&M University, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Howard University, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T State University and Tuskegee University. Students from other HBCUs such as South Carolina State University, Southern University, Prairie View A&M University, Florida A&M University and Tennessee State University will continue to receive investments from Boeing focused on infrastructure and capability building as well as benefit from the investment through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s Leadership Institute.
In the May blog, I stated that HBCUs must prove value. Well I believe this initiative shows we are getting someone’s attention and proving our value. If government agencies and prime contractors would engage themselves as advocates for HBCUs, just as they would a Small Disadvantage Business, rather than insisting that HBCUs want a handout, I think more people would recognize the worth and strong capabilities of an HBCU.
