Morgan State University, a historically Black educational institution in Baltimore, has launched the Presidential Task Force on the State of Black Male Enrollment at Morgan, a new initiative aimed at examining the underlying causes leading to the recent drop in Black male students at the HBCU and other postsecondary institutions.
According to an August 2024 report from the American Institute for Boys and Men, the share of Black male students enrolled at all HBCUs in 2022 was 26 percent, a steep drop from fifty years ago, when they represented 38 percent of all HBCU students. Morgan State has also experienced a recent decline in Black male student enrollment. Last fall, the share of Black male students dropped to 37 percent. In 2015, their share was 43 percent.
Mark Barnes, associate professor of history and geography, and Michael Sinclair, associate professor of social work, will co-chair the new task force. Alongside a group of faculty, staff, and students, Dr. Barnes and Dr. Sinclair will investigate the socioeconomic and cultural factors influencing Black male college enrollment, identify best practices and successful intervention models, evaluate the Black male student experience at Morgan, and provide recommendations to strengthen retention and graduation rates.
“Morgan has long been a leader in providing access and opportunity for Black males seeking higher education,” said David K. Wilson, president of Morgan State University. “The ongoing decline in Black male enrollment at HBCUs is a clarion call for action, and we will not stand idly by. This task force will engage in rigorous research to understand the forces at play and develop evidence-based strategies to ensure that more Black men not only enroll at Morgan but thrive and complete their degrees.”
