Death at an Early Age: An Exploration of Historically Black College and University Closures and Strategies to Survive

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 43
  In Roundtable Session: The Politics of Closure: Implications of and Lessons From Failed Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract

Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been and continue to be great contributors to the education of American society, specifically to the education of African-Americans and other members of marginalized communities. These institutions, coming to fruition mostly during the Reconstruction era, have always had to do more with less. Centuries of underfunding and racist social policy have made it so that many of these institutions are underresourced compared to other institutional sectors. Though this is the case, a number of these institutions have also struggled with fiscal mismanagement, rapid leadership turnover, development challenges, strained enrollments, and micromanaging boards. The combination of factors presented have led to the closure of a number of these institutions, some as recent as this decade.
This paper will take a case study approach to interrogate the path, process, and elements that work in tandem to lead to an HBCU closure. Elements such as board practices, governance structures, financial challenges, institutional and public policies, and their role in institutional culture will be explored. Furthermore, the unique impact and implications that HBCU closures have on Black communities specifically, and access to higher education generally, will also be discussed. HBCUs have proven to be invaluable assets in the provision of higher education opportunities. This paper aims to understand how these invaluable treasures are lost and aid in the prevention of further institutional deaths within this sector.

Author

• Felecia Elana Commodore, Old Dominion University