Black Colleges Fight To Survive (Chicago Tribune)

Financial, Other Ills Beset Many Venerable Schools
By Dahleen Glanton, Chicago Tribune
Monday, October 21, 2002

Atlanta -- The stately buildings of Morris Brown College have been fixtures in the city's black community for more than a century. In founder's square near the entrance of the small campus, two monuments stand as a testament to the school's longevity and its role as one of America's oldest historically black colleges.

Now, $23 million in debt and its accreditation threatened because of alleged mishandling of student financial aid, Morris Brown faces an uncertain future. Students who depend on federal grants and loans could be cut off and forced to leave. Eventually, the doors could close for good, signifying the demise of a once-thriving private institution founded by the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1881, 18 years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

What has happened at Morris Brown is tragic but not unique. Across America, many of the 103 historically black colleges and universities are struggling to stay afloat, including some state-run institutions. Since 1976, at least a dozen have closed due to poor funding and problems among their leadership. Six are on probation.

While some black colleges, such as Morehouse and Spelman in Atlanta, Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Hampton University in Virginia, are thriving and have amassed multimillion-dollar endowments, others rely heavily on student financial aid to operate. But in a sluggish economy, state and federal financing have been curtailed. Corporate donations that already were minimal have dried up. And black alumni, who for the most part have never been able to afford large donations, are giving even less.

"We have never had financial parity with white universities. Student financial aid is the lifeblood of our institutions," said Joyce Payne, director of the Office for the Advancement of Public Black Colleges. "Historically black colleges are a national resource that contribute to this country's prosperity by educating large numbers of African-Americans. Some people don't understand that. So in 2002, we are fighting the same inequities in education that were there in the 1950s."

Aging facilities, few amenities

Many black colleges are suffering from decades of neglect, with crumbling infrastructures and antiquated facilities. They have few classrooms with computer terminals, inadequate science labs and few high-technology facilities. Conveniences that students on white campuses take for granted--e-mail access, well-stocked libraries and inviting cafeterias--are rare at most black colleges.

In recent years, many black colleges have begun avidly recruiting white students. For some of the 39 historically black, public four-year institutions, the change happened as a result of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination at all public colleges and universities. In other cases it is done out of necessity as the pool of black applicants diminishes, the result of aggressive efforts by predominantly white universities to recruit the best African-American students. Whites also are recruited for sports, such as wrestling, baseball and women's softball.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, total enrollment at historically black colleges and universities rose from 233,557 to 274,212 from 1980 to 1999, about a 17 percent increase. White enrollment at those schools increased about 30 percent to more than 36,000. Hispanic, Asian and Native American enrollments have doubled to about 8,000.

Three historically black colleges have become predominantly white: Lincoln University in Missouri, West Virginia State College and Bluefield State College in West Virginia. Eight others have sizable white enrollment, much of it because of scholarships offered to white students.

During the past 40 years, states have been pressured to improve diversity on all public college campuses. Lawsuits against "dual systems" have been filed in Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, Mississippi and Tennessee and the states are implementing desegregation settlements.

At Tennessee State, for example, white students, considered to be minorities, need only a 2.5 grade-point average and a 19, out of a possible 36, on the ACT entrance exam to attend for free. Blacks must have a 3.0 GPA and score at least 21 on the ACT to receive a scholarship.

The shift has caused a rift among supporters of historically black colleges and universities, with some arguing that admitting too many whites forces colleges away from their original mission. Most historically black colleges began as a means of educating freed slaves and their descendants.

Until the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the policy of "separate but equal" schools in 1954, black colleges remained the likely option for African-Americans. After desegregation, African-Americans who did not have the money or credentials to attend predominantly white schools continued to go to black colleges.

"Diversity makes us a much stronger institution," said William DeLauder, president of Delaware State University, where the student body is 20 percent white and the faculty is 40 percent white. "Being a historically black college, there are traditions that we continue to promote. We just do it in a way that white students feel included."

Government aid falls short

During the past five years, federal aid to historically black colleges has increased by 3.6 percent to $264 million, a figure black college presidents say is vastly inadequate.

Private colleges such as Morris Brown receive no state aid and rely solely on corporations, federal money, tuition, church affiliations and the United Negro College Fund. Though the fund has raised nearly $1.8 billion over five decades to support its 39 private institutions, that has been only a drop in the bucket in the face of rising costs.

Public colleges, which enroll 80 percent of all students at black colleges, also are affected.

For every federal dollar that goes to black public colleges, according to Payne, states pay only 50 cents. Predominantly white public institutions receive $5 to $7 for every dollar from the federal government.

Grambling State University has a history of underfunding in Louisiana. It has had repeated audit problems and could lose its accreditation.

Presidents under pressure

In the past two years, more than two dozen black colleges have changed presidents, mostly because of mounting pressure to raise money. Most fundraising duties fall on the president, along with representing the school, maintaining academic standards, hiring staff and recruiting students.

"It takes time to change the perception of a university. Even when you make progress, people don't see it right away," said Dolores Cross, the former president of Chicago State University who served three years at the helm of Morris Brown before resigning in March. "So we are not able to get the large donations that more well-known colleges receive. Many black colleges are tuition-driven. When the money comes in, it's used to pay the cost of education."

The U.S. Department of Education has ordered Morris Brown to repay nearly $6 million it received for students who did not qualify for financial aid or who dropped out or never enrolled. The school also has been placed on probation and is awaiting an accreditation review next week.

Morris Brown President Charles Taylor said he is working on a plan to relieve a short-term debt of $15 million. He said the school will survive, as have other black colleges that have been deep in debt. Some students, however, are not so sure.

"I am thinking about transferring, but I am worried about what other colleges will think about me coming from a school with all these problems," said Ryan Washington, a 21-year-old junior. "No matter what happens, this is going to look bad on my resume."
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