Following U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic election victory, some critics declared that historically black colleges and universities such as FAMU are no longer needed. Obama’s new secretary of education, Arne Duncan (pictured on the right), strongly disagrees.
“HBCUs cannot simply survive. They have to thrive. The historical importance of these schools cannot be overstated. Their relevance today is as great as any time in the past,” Duncan said during a recent visit to Howard University.
Duncan praised HBCUs for reaching out to diamonds-in-the-rough.
“Once students get into college, HBCUs have a unique ability to nurture and provide support to students who may need some extra help,” he stated.
As former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Duncan believes HBCUs have a critical role to play reversing the nation’s teacher shortage.
FAMU is a national leader in preparing blacks for the teaching careers. A report released last year by the Florida Department of Education confirms that the state needs FAMU to produce even more men and women for this profession. Florida has a severe lack of teachers, particularly in the areas of: math, science, language arts, reading, and foreign languages.
FAMU’s teacher-certification programs could receive even more applications if the University of Florida goes forward with a proposal to eliminate its undergraduate degrees in education.
Duncan touted the president’s stimulus package as a financial lifeline to help HBCU students who are struggling through the recession.
“We want to dramatically increase access and opportunity,” he said. “So, in the new budget, we are significantly increasing Pell Grants, Perkins loans. We are announcing billions of dollars in new scholarship and loan opportunities to ensure that those students who want to go to school are not going to have financial stress stand in the way of that.”
“HBCUs cannot simply survive. They have to thrive. The historical importance of these schools cannot be overstated. Their relevance today is as great as any time in the past,” Duncan said during a recent visit to Howard University.
Duncan praised HBCUs for reaching out to diamonds-in-the-rough.
“Once students get into college, HBCUs have a unique ability to nurture and provide support to students who may need some extra help,” he stated.
As former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Duncan believes HBCUs have a critical role to play reversing the nation’s teacher shortage.
FAMU is a national leader in preparing blacks for the teaching careers. A report released last year by the Florida Department of Education confirms that the state needs FAMU to produce even more men and women for this profession. Florida has a severe lack of teachers, particularly in the areas of: math, science, language arts, reading, and foreign languages.
FAMU’s teacher-certification programs could receive even more applications if the University of Florida goes forward with a proposal to eliminate its undergraduate degrees in education.
Duncan touted the president’s stimulus package as a financial lifeline to help HBCU students who are struggling through the recession.
“We want to dramatically increase access and opportunity,” he said. “So, in the new budget, we are significantly increasing Pell Grants, Perkins loans. We are announcing billions of dollars in new scholarship and loan opportunities to ensure that those students who want to go to school are not going to have financial stress stand in the way of that.”
I'm happy to see that President Obama and Secretary Duncan have taken such a strong, pro-HBCU position.
ReplyDeleteI think we need to remember the H, de-emphasize the B, and focus on making the U the best it can be.
ReplyDeleteToday is all that matters. Excellence today.
Students do not pay for history, they pay for a future.
I think we can continue to fully embrace the "B" while being inclusive of all.
ReplyDeleteLast year, VPSA Roland Gaines wrote an op-ed that encouraged students who didn't get into the state universities that had imposed enrollment caps to consider FAMU. It was a very well-written message that emphasized FAMU's mission as an institution for everyone who is looking for opportunity.