Welcome to the first installment in a five part series for Black History Month! The following four parts are linked below in the Read More section!
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). References are everywhere: celebrities rocking a sweatshirt at homecoming or hearing them mentioned in songs on your music streaming services. Even Beyoncé paid tribute to HBCUs with her iconic 2018 Coachella performance.
Many of my fellow Black millennial HBCU alums will tell you the television show A Different World gave us a glimpse of something different. Hillman College, the show’s fictional HBCU, mimicked these real-life institutions that were designed with us in
mind. When I stepped on Howard University’s campus, I finally understood the feeling so many HBCU alums had tried but failed to put into words for me. It was an “aha” moment, and I knew I was home. I chose Howard for its outstanding journalism program, but like many other HBCUs, it excels across the board in science, business, law, and many other areas.
This Black History Month, we at the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) want to take you beyond the popular culture references and highlight the unique attributes and challenges these illustrious institutions face.
HBCUs and STEM
With the increase of students pursuing a Science, Technology, Education, and Math (STEM) education, we’ve seen that more HBCUs are investing in their science and technology programs. Did you know that Xavier University in New Orleans, LA is frequently
noted as one of the top producers of Black students who go on to attend medical school? The Association of American Medical Colleges reports that Howard University and Xavier University were the top two medical school Black applicant-producing institutions (Go Bison!). Also worthy of noting: Spelman College in Atlanta, GA and Oakwood University in Huntsville,
AL, who also made the list at 5th and 11th respectively, ranked higher than their predominantly white counterparts Duke University, Cornell University and Emory University.
Tuskegee University, in Tuskegee, AL, is home to the only HBCU with a fully accredited College of Veterinary Medicine. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reports that Tuskegee graduates, “more than 75 percent of the African American veterinarians in the world.” Tuskegee also boasts an excellent aerospace engineering program. In
2019, Tuskegee and fellow HBCU Virginia State University (Petersburg, VA) were selected for a $1.5 million grant for NASA’s Aerospace High-Volume Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Cooperative. Students in the Cooperative, “learn[ed] about designing and building aerospace parts using high-volume manufacturing practices, as w/ell as supply chain management of those parts.”
Last year, Xavier University and Morgan State University (Baltimore, MD) forged partnerships with local medical facilities to open medical schools on their respective campuses. Xavier University’s partnership with Ochsner Health was born out of their existing collaboration through Xavier’s College of Pharmacy. Morgan State’s new Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine is proposed to open in fall 2024. These two institutions join the existing four HBCU medical schools: Howard University, Morehouse College, Meharry Medical College and Charles Drew University
of Medicine and Science.
Norfolk State University (Norfolk, VA) recently received $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation as a part of the Future
Leaders and Movers in Engineering and Computer Science (FLAME) program. The grant will provide engineering and computer science students with experiential learning, academic and professional mentoring, as well as a scholarship to ensure they remain
in the program and complete their degree.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education’s Top 100 Degree Producers 2020-2021 noted these 10 HBCUs have outstanding STEM programs, producing more African Americans with bachelor’s degrees in their respective fields:
These partnerships and opportunities are a testament to the quality of education every student can receive at an HBCU. We celebrate the unique contributions these institutions have made within America’s higher education landscape not just this month,
but every day. Stay tuned to your weekly Success Digest this month as we continue to celebrate Black Excellence!
For more information on HBCUs, be sure to check out the U.S. Department of Education’s College Navigator Tool.
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