The board of trustees of Alabama A&M University voted 7-4 in favor of Dr. Daniel K. Wims as the twelfth president of Alabama A&M University. He will take office on January 1.
Alabama A&M University enrolls just over 5,000 undergraduate students and more than 800 graduate students, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 90 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Dr. Wims has been serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs and for research, as well as a professor of agricultural sciences at the university.
Dr. Wims formerly served as the executive vice-president and vice-president for academic affairs, and professor of agricultural sciences at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. Earlier, he was assistant vice president for student affairs and associate professor at South Carolina State University and director of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and associate professor of agricultural sciences at Florida A&M University.
Dr. Wims received a bachelor’s degree in agronomy at Fort Valley State University. He holds a master’s degree in agricultural extension and education from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in agricultural extension and education from the University of Maryland College Park.
Amid the immediate need for healing the various constituents around a rather bitter and controversial Alabama A&M presidential appointment, Wims is right to include in his agenda a focus on retention, ultimately graduation rates that have not been very successful under Hugine as president and Wims as provost and vice president.
AAMU has grown enrollment in the Hugine years, but has not successfully retained and graduated AAMU students, similarly to many HBCUs.
In an article in process I am crafting, this former administrator randomly selected 52 HBCUs – not necessarily similar in size – but HBCUs overall are struggling with graduating students.
AAMU has a 29% six-year graduation rate based on a 2014 cohort and an 11% four-year graduation rate, with a low 54% retention rate for freshmen (first-year students) fall to fall. Simply explained, 29 AAMU students out of every 100 AAMU students graduate in six years, and 11 AAMU students out of every 100 AAMU students graduate in four years.
Below is the an ongoing look at 52 HBCUs with a concern that HBCUs are not graduating their students – and more importantly, appear to ignore these compelling data with no plans in place to mitigate them. These data are compiled from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and can be verified online at https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
Controversial is the potential that the Biden budget would cut HBCU funding from $45 billion to $2 billion dollars. If Republicans see the data below, it would give justification to cut HBCUs, even though the HBCU argument is the long-term effect of limited resources. However, money is not the only factor for students who stop out or do not return. In a larger discussion not possible here, cognitive, social, and institutional factors are large contributors to why students do not persist and graduate. And there is more.
Did the AAMU board in its appointment consider that graduating students ought be the main focus?
RANKING HBCU
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY SIX-YEAR
GRADUATION
RATE FOUR-YEAR
GRADUATION
RATE RETENTION
(FIRST-TIME)
FRESHMEN
1 Spelman 75% 65% 89%
2 Howard 64% 52% 90%
3 Hampton 60% 44% 72%
4 Morehouse 56% 40% 86%
5 Florida A&M 55% 22% 85%
6 Tuskegee 52% 28% 77%
7 North Carolina Central 52% 27% 78%
8 North Carolina A&T 52% 26% 80%
9 Virginia State 52% 26% 80%
*10 Claflin 50% 37% 70%
*10 Winston Salem State 50% 27% 77%
*10 Talladega 50% 27% 77%
*10 Dillard 50% 33% 70%
11 Fisk 49% 40% 80%
12 Delaware State 48% 34% 74%
13 Xavier (Louisiana) 47% 35% 77%
14 Morgan State 46% 20% 74%
*15 Lincoln University (Philadelphia) 45% 30% 71%
*15 Alcorn State 45% 25% 74%
16 Johnson C. Smith 44% 29% 65%
17 Bowie State 43% 17% 77%
18 Clark Atlanta University 42% 28% 63%
*19 University of Maryland
Eastern Shores 41% 20% 73%
*19 Elizabeth City State 41% 20% 73%
*19 Voorhees College 41% 32% 55%
20 Norfolk State 40% 17% 68%
21 Wilberforce 39% 9% 35%
*22 Fayetteville State 36% 23% 66%
*22 Virginia Union 36% 21% 61%
23 Florida Memorial University 35% 22% 50%
24 Philander Smith 34% 25% 58%
25 Bethune-Cookman 33% 14% 73%
*26 South Carolina State 30% 13% 69%
*26 Coppin State 30% 12% 65%
*26 Kentucky State 30% 16% 78%
*27 Bennett College 29% 17% 52%
*27 Alabama State 29% 11% 54%
*27 ALABAMA A&M 29% 11% 54%
*28 Edward Waters 28% 16% 54%
*28 Southern University A&M 28% 9% 60%
*28 Benedict College 28% 15% 69%
*28 Livingstone College 28% 18% 47%
*28 Wiley College 28% 18% 70%
*29 Tennessee State 27% 11% 64%
*29 Savannah State 27% 11% 69%
30 Morris College 26% 8% 36%
31 Miles College 24% 14% 55%
32 Stillman College 21% 10% 56%
*33 Saint Augustine’s University 19% 15% 52%
*33 Allen University 19% 8% 50%
*33 Southern University – New Orleans 19% 4% 42%
*33 Shaw University 19% 8% 67%
National Center for Education Statistics – NCES (2014 Cohort) | N=52 Colleges and Universities
*Tie in Rank with another college or university
*Chart in error as Alabama State data was incorrect
RANKING HBCU
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY SIX-YEAR
GRADUATION
RATE FOUR-YEAR
GRADUATION
RATE RETENTION
(FIRST-TIME)
1 Spelman 75% 65% 89%
2 Howard 64% 52% 90%
3 Hampton 60% 44% 72%
4 Morehouse 56% 40% 86%
5 Florida A&M 55% 22% 85%
6 Tuskegee 52% 28% 77%
7 North Carolina Central 52% 27% 78%
8 North Carolina A&T 52% 26% 80%
9 Virginia State 52% 26% 80%
*10 Claflin 50% 37% 70%
*10 Winston Salem State 50% 27% 77%
*10 Talladega 50% 27% 77%
*10 Dillard 50% 33% 70%
11 Fisk 49% 40% 80%
12 Delaware State 48% 34% 74%
13 Xavier (Louisiana) 47% 35% 77%
14 Morgan State 46% 20% 74%
*15 Lincoln University (Philadelphia) 45% 30% 71%
*15 Alcorn State 45% 25% 74%
16 Johnson C. Smith 44% 29% 65%
17 Bowie State 43% 17% 77%
18 Clark Atlanta University 42% 28% 63%
*19 University of Maryland
Eastern Shores 41% 20% 73%
*19 Elizabeth City State 41% 20% 73%
*19 Voorhees College 41% 32% 55%
20 Norfolk State 40% 17% 68%
21 Wilberforce 39% 9% 35%
*22 Fayetteville State 36% 23% 66%
*22 Virginia Union 36% 21% 61%
23 Florida Memorial University 35% 22% 50%
24 Philander Smith 34% 25% 58%
25 Bethune-Cookman 33% 14% 73%
*26 Alabama State 32% 15% %
*27 South Carolina State 30% 13% 69%
*27 Coppin State 30% 12% 65%
*27 Kentucky State 30% 16% 78%
*28 Bennett College 29% 17% 52%
*28 ALABAMA A&M 29% 11% 54%
*28 Edward Waters 28% 16% 54%
*29 Southern University A&M 28% 9% 60%
*29 Benedict College 28% 15% 69%
*29 Livingstone College 28% 18% 47%
*29 Wiley College 28% 18% 70%
*30 Tennessee State 27% 11% 64%
*30 Savannah State 27% 11% 69%
31 Morris College 26% 8% 36%
33 Miles College 24% 14% 55%
34 Stillman College 21% 10% 56%
*35 Saint Augustine’s University 19% 15% 52%
*35 Allen University 19% 8% 50%
*35 Southern University – New Orleans 19% 4% 42%
*35 Shaw University 19% 8% 67%
For accuracy purposes, HBCUs were not going to receive $45 billion alone. The $45 billion was going to be shared with HSIs and TCUs along with having to compete for such funds. In essence, the racist, dismissive, disrespectful, anti-HBCUs, and especially towards the native born Black American community Joe Biden is being given a pass by the sellout, neoliberal, politically correct, and do nothing CBC.
Further, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the SPINELESS HBCU Presidents/Chancellors who will not publicly voice their displeasure with this funding disrespect. Instead, these higher education charlatans will say “he only can do so much”. Yet, this cognitive decline Jim Crow Joe can earmark $6.3 billion for Afghan refugees and no one say anything. Give me a break.
It is neither helpful to HBCUs or garners support for HBCUs to excoriate the President Biden in such disrespectful terms as if he singly is responsible for funding HBCUs and other colleges and universities when there are over 5,300 colleges and universities in the U.S. My point HBCUs taking accountability for low success rates in graduation. HBCUs have quite a bit of work to do ensure that the students they enroll graduate, preferably in four years as opposed to six or more. That is neither the fault of the newly elected President or those governing at the moment. Aside from Afghan refugees, we could talk about the military budget as well or the trillions of dollars in comparison to the proposed $3.5 trillion and the tax cut from TFG administration. Perspective.
Hey Terrence,
No need for the emotive, political correct, and neoliberal rant. The entirety of your misguided response should be viewed as nothing more than an existential threat to HBCUs. I noticed you kept your mouth shut when I talked about that $6.3 billion going to the “Afghan Refugees”. I wonder why. Regarding the monies spent on the US military, yes, it is excessive on numerous levels. However, if the US did not spend significant amount of monies on the US military there’s a high probability your way of life would be significantly different. I just bet you never worn the uniform or probably never been to a military base.
Last point, you need to stop being a dam apologist for the “Jim Crow Joe” and Biden’s Law Administration. You probably would say the “Dismissive, Disrespectful, Corporatist, War Mongering, and anti-HBCUs” Obama was a good president. How tragic.
Your anonymity and fallacies in reason are noted. Thank you.