Analysis Finds That Historically Black Universities Still Come Up Short in State Funding

A new report by Dr. James T. Minor, an assistant professor of higher education at Michigan State University, finds that black colleges and universities continue to face funding shortfalls from state governments and government research agencies.

Professor Minor’s study, made possible by a grant from the Lumina Foundation, analyzed funding patterns in four states: Mississippi, North Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana. He found that predominantly white universities received a disproportionate level of funding compared to historically black institutions. For example, in North Carolina, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, two predominantly white institutions, received more appropriations from the state than all five historically black universities combined.

It is true that the two predominantly white universities are considerably larger than the black schools. But Dr. Minor’s analysis of per-student appropriations finds that Chapel Hill and North Carolina State receive about $15,700 per student each year whereas the historically black universities receive about $7,800 per student.

Dr. Minor’s data showed similar discrepancies in the three other states examined.

He also found that black colleges and universities received only tidbits in research funds from the National Science Foundation and other federal organizations. In fact, there are six predominantly white universities that receive more research grants than 79 historically black universities combined.

The report, Contemporary HBCUs: Considering Institutional Capacity and State Priorities, can be downloaded by clicking here.

Copyright © 2008. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.