A Vote of Confidence: Trusting HBCU Leaders to Narrow the Funding Gap

Dr. Harry L. Williams Headlines in recent weeks have indicated a flurry of philanthropic activity from a well-known donor: MacKenzie Scott. ...

Dr. Harry L. WilliamsHeadlines in recent weeks have indicated a flurry of philanthropic activity from a well-known donor: MacKenzie Scott. More than $300 million was invested by Scott to the historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) community. Alabama State University, Alcorn State University, Howard University, Morgan State University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Virginia State University received substantial donations, many of them the single largest in institutional history. This isn’t Scott’s first time supporting the HBCU community. In 2020, she provided more than $500 million to HBCUs across the country. Scott has an indirect connection to Howard University, studying under Howard alumna Toni Morrison while at Princeton University.  

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) was among those recipients in 2020 and is now a two-time recipient, receiving a generous undisclosed amount from Scott in September. Our collaborative partner, UNCF, also received a substantial gift. With the support provided directly to our institutions and indirectly through organizations like TMCF and UNCF, these gifts will be transformational in helping level the playing field for our students and institutions.

As research has shown, public HBCUs have been underfunded compared to their predominantly white counterparts collectively by billions of dollars over the last several decades. This systemic underfunding has widened education gaps, resulted in deferred maintenance on critical infrastructure and created additional obstacles on the path to the workforce. While these generous gifts from Scott will create transformative impact for these campuses and their students, it is not a magic wand that resolves the issues created by underfunding.

In the previous round of gifts from Scott, institutions shored up endowments, invested in student retention and scholarships, and strengthened a variety of strategic priorities. No doubt the most recent gifts will do the same and more. The benefits created from this ripple effect are many.

For instance, this funding can provide financial security sorely needed in this sector of higher education, potentially reducing the need to rely on year-to-year tuition revenue or government appropriations. Greater security allows institutions to plan for the future with greater certainty. Gifts of this magnitude can also raise the public profile of and confidence in the institution, which can attract more donations from philanthropists, corporations and alumni.    

Unrestricted gifts, which allow organizations to use the funds where they are most needed, provide flexibility to address urgent issues, such as need-based scholarships to lower student debt and improve retention rates; upgrade technology, modernize facilities and build new spaces; increase salaries and benefits to attract and retain top faculty and staff; and invest in in-demand programs that enhance a student’s preparedness for the workforce.   

Scott’s generosity provides more than capital. It’s a powerful vote of confidence in HBCU leadership, empowering them to dismantle the systemic and institutional barriers of educational inequity. The pursuit of access to education is woven into the foundation of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and it is the legacy of the man for whom our organization is named. Justice Marshall understood that the fight for justice begins with equal opportunity in education, because the classroom produces the change agents of tomorrow. By investing in our future leaders through these institutions, we honor Marshall’s lifelong commitment to making true equity not a promise, but a sustainable reality.

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Dr. Harry L. Williams is President and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

 

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