White House Is Drafting An Executive Order On HBCUs, Sources Say
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LAW DAWG
TSU LOVE
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT: Statement on HBCU Presidents Visit to White House
Date Released: March 1, 2017
To The Morehouse College Community:
I spent the last two days in meetings at the White House and on Capitol Hill. As some of you may know, all HBCU presidents were invited to a dialogue with President Trump and his new administration about support for HBCUs. Most of the 104 HBCU presidents attended, including all presidents from the Georgia-based HBCUs.
Many had high hopes about this meeting. There was much advance chatter about it being “historic,” and there were many signals from key Trump administration officials that they would surprise HBCUs with favorable treatment. Given my experience in the Obama administration, I knew this would require an extraordinary announcement. Why? Because I knew that President Obama had invested $3 billion more in HBCUs in his first six years than President Bush invested in his final six years. Therefore, since President Trump pledged to “do more for HBCUs than any other president has done before,” we could have reasonably expected him to get started by announcing at least an additional $500 million to HBCUs…this year! And beside the expectation of new funding, there was advance talk of changes like an aspirational goal of 5 to 10 percent for federal agency funding to HBCUs, a special HBCU innovation fund, large boosts in Pell Grant and Title III funding, and extra tax breaks for those in the private sector who contribute to HBCUs. But, instead of the long-awaited executive order containing or signaling any of those outcomes, the key change is a symbolic shift of the White House HBCU Initiative from the Department of Education to the White House. It is not possible to measure the impact of this gesture anytime soon, if ever.
In general, the meetings were a troubling beginning to what must be a productive relationship. Trust that the HBCU community will continue to press for the kind of funding that educational excellence and national competitiveness require!
Steadfast,
John Silvanus Wilson Jr.
http://www.morehouse.edu/collegesta...atementonhbcupresidentsvisittowhitehouse.html
Date Released: March 1, 2017
To The Morehouse College Community:
I spent the last two days in meetings at the White House and on Capitol Hill. As some of you may know, all HBCU presidents were invited to a dialogue with President Trump and his new administration about support for HBCUs. Most of the 104 HBCU presidents attended, including all presidents from the Georgia-based HBCUs.
Many had high hopes about this meeting. There was much advance chatter about it being “historic,” and there were many signals from key Trump administration officials that they would surprise HBCUs with favorable treatment. Given my experience in the Obama administration, I knew this would require an extraordinary announcement. Why? Because I knew that President Obama had invested $3 billion more in HBCUs in his first six years than President Bush invested in his final six years. Therefore, since President Trump pledged to “do more for HBCUs than any other president has done before,” we could have reasonably expected him to get started by announcing at least an additional $500 million to HBCUs…this year! And beside the expectation of new funding, there was advance talk of changes like an aspirational goal of 5 to 10 percent for federal agency funding to HBCUs, a special HBCU innovation fund, large boosts in Pell Grant and Title III funding, and extra tax breaks for those in the private sector who contribute to HBCUs. But, instead of the long-awaited executive order containing or signaling any of those outcomes, the key change is a symbolic shift of the White House HBCU Initiative from the Department of Education to the White House. It is not possible to measure the impact of this gesture anytime soon, if ever.
In general, the meetings were a troubling beginning to what must be a productive relationship. Trust that the HBCU community will continue to press for the kind of funding that educational excellence and national competitiveness require!
Steadfast,
John Silvanus Wilson Jr.
http://www.morehouse.edu/collegesta...atementonhbcupresidentsvisittowhitehouse.html
MetroPhillyTiger
Well-Known Member
You Played Yourself: HBCU Leaders Disappointed That Trump Broke His Promise With New Budget
Despite the high-profile meeting with Trump at the White House last month, HBCU leaders are not feeling the love now that #45’s proposed budget has been released. The promised extra money and investment for their schools were glaringly, but not surprisingly, missing.
According to The Washington Post, Trump’s first presidential budget calls for “maintaining” $492 million for HBCUs, which raised eyebrows given that the combined discretionary spending for these schools is actually $577 million right now. When asked about this fiscal discrepancy, the Education Department didn’t respond to the newspaper requests.
In addition, the WaPo also pointed out that there is no mention of any federal investment in scholarships, technology or campus infrastructure for historically black colleges that the leaders requested. And instead of expanding Pell grants for low-income students, the budget actually slashes $4 billion from that vital educational program.
Despite the high-profile meeting with Trump at the White House last month, HBCU leaders are not feeling the love now that #45’s proposed budget has been released. The promised extra money and investment for their schools were glaringly, but not surprisingly, missing.
According to The Washington Post, Trump’s first presidential budget calls for “maintaining” $492 million for HBCUs, which raised eyebrows given that the combined discretionary spending for these schools is actually $577 million right now. When asked about this fiscal discrepancy, the Education Department didn’t respond to the newspaper requests.
In addition, the WaPo also pointed out that there is no mention of any federal investment in scholarships, technology or campus infrastructure for historically black colleges that the leaders requested. And instead of expanding Pell grants for low-income students, the budget actually slashes $4 billion from that vital educational program.