Policy Resolution EDU-24-04

WHEREAS, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have made historic and ongoing contributions to the general welfare and prosperity of our country and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) has a long history of supporting these vital institutions of learning;

WHEREAS, America’s HBCUs, for over one hundred fifty years, have produced leaders in business, government, academia, and the military and have provided generations of men and women with hope and educational opportunity;

WHEREAS, there are105 HBCUs are located in 20 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and they serve more than 300,000 undergraduate and graduate students;

WHEREAS, these institutions continue to be important engines of economic growth and community service, and they are proven ladders of intergenerational advancement for men and women of all ethnic, racial, and economic backgrounds, especially African Americans;

WHEREAS, these institutions also produce a high number of baccalaureate recipients who go on to assume leadership and service roles in their communities and who successfully complete graduate and professional degree programs;

WHEREAS, in February 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order 13532 to highlight excellence, innovation, and sustainability of HBCUs, using partnerships with federal agencies and departments and the private sector to sustain the important work of HBCUs;

WHEREAS, In 2017 The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation creating the TN HBCU Initiative to assist both public and private HBCUs in TN to be more successful;

WHEREAS, this initiative worked with departments, agencies, and offices, the private sector, educational associations, philanthropic organizations, and other partners to increase the capacity of HBCUs to provide the highest quality education to a greater number of students, and to utilize these institutions to serve the state’s needs through five (5) core tasks:

(1) Strengthening the capacity of HBCUs to participate in state programs;

(2) Fostering enduring private-sector initiatives and public-private partnerships while promoting specific areas and centers of academic research and programmatic excellence throughout all HBCUs;

(3) Improving the availability, dissemination, and quality of information concerning HBCUs to inform public policy and practice;

(4) Sharing administrative and programmatic practices within the consortium for the benefit of all; and

(5) Exploring new ways of improving the relationship between the state and HBCUs;

WHEREAS, each state executive branch department and agency are encouraged to create an annual plan of its efforts to strengthen the capacity of HBCUs through increased participation in appropriate federal programs and initiatives; and

WHEREAS, under the bill each agency plans were to include the following where appropriate :

(1) Establish how the department or agency intends to increase the capacity of HBCUs to compete effectively for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements and to encourage HBCUs to participate in state programs;

(2) Identify state programs and initiatives in which HBCUs may be either underserved or underused as national resources, and improve HBCUs’ participation therein; and

(3) Encourage public-sector, private-sector, and community involvement to improve the overall capacity of HBCUs.

THEREFORE Be it resolved, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) encourages every state where one or more HBCUs are located to implement legislation to create an HBCU Initiative to help HBCUs to access state programs;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL further encourages every state to provide funding and resources to help HBCUs achieve these goals;

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• Resolution ID: EDU-24-04
• Sponsored by: Rep. Harold Love, Jr. (TN)
• Policy Committee: Education (EDU)