The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that eight private historically Black colleges and universities that are members of the United Negro College Fund, will be the first beneficiaries of the deferment authority of the HBCU Capital Finance Program.
The HBCU Capital Finance program allowed colleges and universities to take out low-interest loans to restore building and facilities on their campuses. But due to the 2008-09 recession and declining enrollments at some HBCUs, many institutions have had difficulty making payments on their loans. As a result, Congress appropriated $10 million that will allow a select group of HBCUs to defer payments on these loans and to receive refunds for payments made this year.
Lodriguez Murray, vice president for public policy and government affairs for the United Negro College Fund and a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, noted that “without a doubt, this is a landmark congressional and administrative achievement. This shows that in an era of hyper partisanship, educational institutions like HBCUs that have a mission-driven focus on African Americans, first-generation college students and those from lower-income backgrounds may well be the last item remaining that Congress can agree on in a bipartisan manner.”
The eight HBCUs that will have their payments deferred are Bennett College, Florida Memorial University, Huston-Tillotsen University, St. Augustine’s University, Shaw University, Voorhees College, Wilberforce University, and Wiley College.
As an alumnus of Shaw University and North Carolina A&T State University I am proud to hear this great news. It lets me know that these universities can now direct there focus on other challenging and strategic concepts. Keep on keeping on. “ Aggie Pride”!
This is a start. However, there are many HBCUs in need of a 20 plus year Comprehensive Facilities Master Plan. Right now most have a short 5-year strategic plan which is not sufficient. A plan with components showing the present and future needs of the universities is necessary. Of significant here is that the plan will encourage alums and the business world to contribute to the needs of the institutions before deterioration sets in…All HBCUs need to plan for the future. The plan should highlight their expectations and vision of the future of the institution. I am convinced that if there is a plan demonstrating the vision and or future of the institution, there will be an increase in donations and even greater funding for state-of=-the-art facilities.