Historically Black Colleges and Universities

There are currently 109 historically black colleges and universities in the United States. Established before 1964, their mission was and continues to be the education of black Americans for service and leadership in the black community as well as the wider community. Ever since Lincoln University opened its doors in 1854, controversy has raged over separate black institutions of higher learning. Roebuck and Murty review the history of black colleges from the antebellum years (prior to 1865) to the present. They provide profiles of each of the major black universities from their founding until today, including their current student composition and faculty makeup. Reviewing the literature on race relations in college life, the authors describe tensions on white and black campuses as reported in journals and periodicals. They then analyze and interpret the results of their own empirical study of race relations on fifteen campuses in the southeastern United States. This is the first comprehensive coverage of the subject.

If Black colleges and universities wish to survive in the competitive and economically stressed education environment of the 21st century, they would do well to respond to some of the pressures for reform that the general school structures are undergoing, in particular population diversification. Sims provides a model for diversification that presents four major steps in orderly progression: the removal of barriers for admission of nonblack students; the development of special programs of interest to the general student population; and the diversification of faculty and administration. Ways of restructuring historically Black colleges and universities to be more supportive of diverse student populations are also developed in this work.

Affirmative Action and the University is the only full-length study to examine the impact of affirmative action on all higher education hiring practices. Drawing on data provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, the authors summarize, track, and evaluate changes in the gender and ethnic makeup of academic and nonacademic employees at private and public colleges and universities from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. Separate chapters assess changes in employment opportunities for white women, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and Native Americans.

The authors look at the extent to which a two-tier employment system exists. In such a system minorities and women are more likely to make their greatest gains in non-elite positions rather than in faculty and administrative positions. The authors also examine differences in hiring practices between public and private colleges and universities.

This volume takes a comprehensive look at the education of African-Americans, specifically early childhood through postsecondary education, and relevant public policy issues since 1940. The list of contributors to the study includes white and black scholars who, by focusing on the known status of the education of African-Americans to date and the additional factors that need to be considered in order to develop appropriate educational strategies, evaluate current programs and suggest ways to improve public policy. Topics ranging from the counseling of minority children to the continuing struggle with racial violence on campus demonstrate the broad scope of this volume.

Leading African American scholars examine the often neglected cultural context in research and policy development in African American higher education in this collection of essays. Past research has most often been conducted by individuals unfamiliar with the historical and cultural considerations of specific ethnic groups. Therefore, the outcomes of research and the development of programs have been based on deficit models, that is, what is wrong with African Americans, or what they cannot achieve. The book examines the questions; what is the relationship between African Americans' culture and experiences, and how should their culture be integrated into research and practice? How do African Americans' intra- and interrelations differ in higher education? How does understanding African American culture as it relates to higher education research enhance policy-making and practice? What role do HBUCs play in African Americans' participation in higher education? What are the policy and practice implications of,past and current research? Scholars and practitioners of education, culture and race relations will find this collection informative and interesting.

This book explores the evolution of the legal standard for collegiate compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 since 1990. Utilizing legal hermeneutics, the legal opinions of the major court rulings in the nineteen southern and border states are interpreted and analyzed, and a legal definition of desegregation emerges. This history of Title VI litigation in higher education reinterprets and elucidates the original intentions of "compliance." It also chronicles the excessive entanglement between the administrative branch of government and the federal judiciary branch. A clearer understanding of how higher education desegregation can be achieved emerges in light of the existing crises in public policy. Special emphasis is placed on exploring the definitions of equity and equality in interpreting higher education desegregation compliance goals.

At a time when American society is desperately seeking to create hope for inner city black youth, this study serves as a tool to encourage those responsible for teaching and socializing young African-American males, who may feel they have little chance for success. The study involved 17 African-American male students at a historically black college in Miami, Florida. These students had great desire to achieve and did so despite daunting obstacles such as neighborhoods plagued with drugs, gangs, and crime. Interviewing students at the moment in their lives when they had successfully advanced beyond their environment, the author helps them to analyze their past in an honest manner. The study reveals that family, in particular the presence of one person who cares for and encourages the young man, is crucial to the student's success.