The HBCU Times Magazine is the nation's premiere publication focusing on the significant contributions of HBCUs and their distinguished alumni base.
2026 FALL ISSUE
FEATURING
DR.MARK
BROWN
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
hbcu
AND HBCU EXCELLENCE
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Post-doctoral Opportunity: Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) Program at the LU-RRTC on Research and Capacity Building for Minority Entities PROJECT OVERVIEW: The Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) Program at the Langston University (historically Black college/university [HBCU]) Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (LU-RRTC) on Research and Capacity Building represents a collaborative effort between the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston ([ICI] Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institution [AANAPISI]), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University ([NCA&T] HBCU), South Carolina State University ([SCSU] HBCU), Jackson State University ([JSU] HBCU), and the Kessler Foundation. The Project implements a Peer-to-Peer Multiple Mentor Model to help post-doctoral Fellows navigate institutional context and cross-fertilize their independent research project and research grant proposal through exchanges with a primary mentor and a scientific panel of mentors comprised of content experts, multicultural specialists, methodologists, and statisticians. The ARRT Program works in concert with the LU-RRTC drawing upon the center’s extensive minority-serving institution research capacity building expertise, collaborative networks, resources, and interventions (e.g., methodology and grant writing web-based trainings, communities of practice, strategic planning, sponsored programs office and institutional review board technical assistance and consultation), offers courses, webinars, and implements peer mentoring as an innovative strategy to holistically address the Fellows’ research skill building needs . INVITATION TO APPLY: We invite individuals who have earned a doctorate from a minority-serving institution (i.e., HBCU, Hispanic serving institution, Tribal college/- university, AANAPIAI) or predominantly White institution (PWI) and current doctoral candidates (must graduate before beginning fellowship) at minority-serving institutions or PWIs interested in employment research to apply to participate in the post-doctoral fellowship. Minority-serving institution based faculty members who have earned doctorates are also eligible to apply (i.e., 80% research supplements through subcontract for such faculty in residence at their employing minority-serving institution are optional). We strongly encourage individuals with disabilities to apply. We are particularly interested in recruiting candidates who have a strong desire to obtain an academic faculty position or research position at a minority-serving institution upon completion of the fellowship program. PARTICIPATION INCENTIVES: • Salary and benefits package- Annual salary with full health benefits • Peer-to-Peer multiple research mentorship opportunity with scientific panel mentors • Financial research agenda start-up package- i.e., study participant honorariums/fellow research travel • Peer reviewed publications • Present research findings at national and/or international rehabilitation related conferences CONTACT: If you have any questions regarding the Langston University Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Program (LU-ARRT), please contact Dr. Corey L. Moore, Principal Investigator/Training Director at (405) 530-7531 or email: capacitybuildingrrtc@langston.edu.
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (LU-RRTC) on Research and Capacity Building for Minority Entities The MISSION of the Langston University RRTC is to empower minority-serving institutions/minority entities (e.g., historically Black colleges/universities [HBCUs], Hispanic-serving institutions [HSIs], Tribal colleges/universities [TCUs], and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institution (ANNAPISIs]) to improve their disability and rehabilitation research capacity and infrastructure by conducting a programmatic line of research examining experiences and outcomes of persons with disabilities from traditionally underserved racial and ethnic populations and communities and capacity-building efforts. LU-RRTC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE The LU-RRTC serves as a national resource center for minority-serving institutions/minority entities seeking to develop their research infrastructure (RI), and to enhance their capacity to engage in disability and rehabilitation research. To this end, the RRTC initiates dissemination, training and technical assistance (TA) activities to develop strong RIs for the conduct of research, preparation, submission, and management of NIDILRR funded research grant projects. TA services are provided as a part of LU-RRTC interventions for research project participants and to minority entities/minority-serving institutions around the country. The quality, intensity, and duration of TA vary by system and the readiness of TA recipients. Minority-serving Institution TA Areas- • Faculty Scholar Role & Function Balance Consultation (e.g., teaching/service/research balance) • Sponsored Programs Office Operations Consultation • Research Infrastructure Strategic Planning • Institutional Review Board (IRB) Operation Consultation • NIDILRR Research Proposal Development Mentorship • NIDILRR Research Project Management Consultation • Manuscript for Peer Reviewed Publication Development Mentorship • NIDILRR Request for Comment (RFC) or Request for Proposal (RFP) Interpretation Consultation • NIDILRR Expert Panel Application Development Consultation • Data Management and Analysis Software and Related Technology Support Consultation State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (SVRA) TA Areas- • SVRA Policy Consultation to Improve Outcomes for Persons from Traditionally Underserved Communities • SVRA Rehabilitation Practitioner Consultation or Training to Improve Outcomes for Persons from Traditionally Underserved Communities LU-RRTC PEER-TO-PEER MENTOR RESEARCH TEAM ACADEMY The LU-RRTC Peer-to-Peer Mentor Research Team Academy represents a collaborative effort between Langston University and the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston (AANAPISI), South Carolina State University (HBCU), Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, Jackson State University (HBCU), Delaware Nation Vocational Rehabilitation Program, Cherokee Nation Vocational Rehabilitation Program, Kessler Foundation, and Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). The Academy mentors Fellows to conduct research that addresses the rehabilitation needs of persons with disabilities from traditionally underserved racial and ethnic backgrounds and communities. Ultimately, the program builds Fellows’ scholarly self-efficacy and research skills by providing them with state-of-the-science knowledge of scientifically valid measurement strategies and methodologies, and direct hands-on experience in the conduct of research and grant proposal development. CONTACT: If you have any questions regarding the (LU-RRTC), please contact Dr. Corey L. Moore, Principal Investigator at (405) 530-7531 or email: capacitybuildingrrtc@langston.edu.
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EDITOR'S MESSAGE
HBCUs as indispensable engines of opportunity, innovation, and social mobility. Our cover feature, The Renaissance of Tuskegee, spotlights President Dr. Mark Brown and a defining moment in the continued evolution of Tuskegee University. With a historic legacy that has influenced the nation and the world, Tuskegee is embracing a bold, forward- looking future. Dr. Brown's leadership reflects the visionary stewardship required to ensure that HBCUs do more than endure; they lead. Readers will also experience the unmistakable energy of Florida A&M University's Homecoming - a celebration of culture, achievement, and Rattler pride that captures the spirit of the HBCU experience. We are equally proud to feature the President of Morris College, whose commitment to student success, academic distinction, and institutional growth reflects the purpose-driven leadership found across our HBCU community. As you turn these pages, celebrate the people and places that make homecoming unforgettable: the students carrying the torch, the alumni returning with pride, the leaders building for tomorrow, and the institutions preserving a legacy while creating new possibilities. HBCU excellence is not confined to a season or a single moment. It is a living legacy - and HBCU Times is honored to share its story with the world.
DR. DAVID STATEN
community is strengthened, and futures are shaped. In this Fall 2026 issue, HBCU Times celebrates HBCU Homecomings and HBCU Excellence by honoring the institutions, leaders, students, and alumni who keep this legacy moving forward. Our opening feature from the Chief Executive Officer of the United Negro College Fund calls us to action - to invest in, advocate for, and champion
THERE IS NO SEASON QUITE LIKE HBCU HOMECOMING SEASON.
Across the country, campuses come alive with the rhythm of marching bands, the pride of alumni, the brilliance of students, and the traditions that connect generations. Homecoming is a joyful return, but it is also a powerful reminder: HBCUs have always been places where excellence is cultivated,
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The Tuskegee University
Renaissance Era means a focus on Student Success
At Tuskegee University, excellence extends beyond the classroom.
In our Renaissance Era, we define Student Success by preparing for careers after graduation. We ensure our scholars step into the global economy confident and prepared. We honor our past by investing in our future. That’s the Tuskegee Way.
Tuskegee University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, master’s, and doctorate degrees. Questions about the accreditation of Tuskegee University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org). www.tuskegee.edu
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
ZERLINE HUGHES SPRUILL Zerline Hughes Spruill is a proud Howard University alumna, co-founder of The Capstone Crate and a writer who lives in Washington, D.C.
AIRIEL GERMAIN Ariel V. Germain serves as Director of Marketing and Communications for the Division of Student Affairs at North Carolina Central University.
DR. NATASHA BRAME
BRANDI KELLAM
Natasha J. Brame is the Administrative Coordinator for the Honors Academy at Cheyney University, the nation’s 1st HBCU.
Brandi Kellam is a two- time Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist and documentary film director.
CRYSTAL A. de GREGORY, PH.D.
KIRSTEN MOSELY
Crystal A. deGregory, Ph.D., is a historian, author, public commentator, and strategic storytelling consultant.
Kirstin is a 2026 Honors Graduate of Cheyney University and a current Bond- Hill Scholar.
DR. MICHAEL L. LOMAX
DR. MARYBETH GASMAN
Dr. Marybeth Gasman is the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education & a Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University.
DR. JAMAL WATSON Dr. Jamal Watson is a higher education journalist. He is also a professor and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at Trinity Washington University. Dr. Michael L. Lomax is president and CEO of UNCF, the nation’s leading private provider of scholarships to college students and a major advocate for HBCUs and higher education.
DR. JANELLE L. WEST
Dr. Janelle L. West is the Dean of the Honors Academy at Cheyney University, the nations 1st HBCU.
ROB KNOX
DR. DAVID STATEN
Rob Knox is an award-winning strategic communications leader.
Dr. David Staten is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of HBCU Times Magazine.
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what's inside
FEATURE ARTICLE
DR. MARK BROWN
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A Landmark Turns 145: Inside Tuskegee's Renaissance
Beyond the Homecoming Celebration: What HBCUs Need from Their Alumni and Supporters Now
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The New Black Research University
HBCU Homecomings: Black Excellence on Full Display
Brotherly Love: HBCU Pride Lights Up Philadelphia
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Who Gets to Define HBCU Excellence? Rethinking Preparation, Power, and the Future of Black Higher Education
What’s Better Than One Free Degree? Two. The Bond-Hill Scholarship
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Student Becomes the First Eagle to Complete the Mister Journey
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There's No Place Like Homecoming at FAMU
Rethinking the Teacher Pipeline: How an HBCU-Born Center Is Reimagining Teacher Preparation From Fishponds to Artificial Intelligence: How UAPB Is Preparing the Next Generation of Black Innovators
Lane College’s Ebony Renee Lee Makes History as Marion B. Sewer Distinguished Scholar
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HBCU ROYALTY FEATURES
Rear Admiral Hale Tanisha J. Hall Dr. Yvonne Mosley Brigadier General Tanya E. Simmons Dr. Eddie Hackler III POWER ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS
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The Elevation of Morris College
Virginia State University Morgan State University Delaware State University Cheney University
Dr. Glenell M. Lee-Pruitt Leads Jarvis Christian University into its Next Chapter
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credits
Editor and Co-CEO Co-CEO
Layout and Design Editor
Dr. David Staten Dr. Bridget Hollis Staten
Mia Draper
Cheyney University Delaware State University EPI Center Fayetteville State University Florida A&M University Howard University
Associate Editors
Amori Washington Octavia Robinson
Dr. Natasha Brame Crystal A. deGregory, Ph.D. Dr. Marybeth Gasman
Jarvis Christian University Meharry Medical College Morehouse College Morris College Norfolk State University Rolondo Davis Southern University Spelman College Tuskegee University United Negro College Fund University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Virginia State University Additional photos provided by the authors and interviewees.
Airiel Germain Brandi Kellam Rob Knox Dr. Michael Lomax Kirsten Mosely Dr. David Staten Zerline Hughes Spruill
Dr. Jamal Watson Dr. Janelle L. West UAPB Staff
Dr. Antoinette Hollis Paula Lyles Estervina Rogers Roderick Rogers
Models
Airielle Brooks Marchaela Brown
connect with us
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INSPIRED BY: ETHEL STATEN AND JORDAN STATEN
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BEYOND THE HOMECOMING CELEBRATION What HBCUs Need from Their Alumni and Supporters Now BY DR. MICHAEL L. LOMAX
Students are back on campus and settling into the rhythm of the fall semester, which also means schools are putting finishing touches on their homecoming plans. Students are back on campus and settling into the rhythm of the fall semester, which also means schools are putting finishing touches on their homecoming plans. Each one of our institutions carries its own storied traditions, many stretching back more than a century. Over the years, homecoming has expanded well beyond athletics to a full weekend of pageantry, arts and culture and reunion. I’ve watched this unfold my entire life and certainly over the last 30 years as a college president and during my time as CEO of UNCF. And I’ve come to understand homecoming is something more than nostalgia. It is, for most HBCUs, the single most important fundraising catalyst for the year. Alumni issue “class challenges” to their fellow graduates. Philanthropic partners time their major gifts to the moment. Thousands of alumni inject capital
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directly into their school by prioritizing direct campus fundraising campaigns, participating in matching gifts, and purchasing high-dollar university vendor spots and tailgating passes, which can range from $400 to more than $750 a space. These collective efforts regularly yield impressive results. It is common for top-performing institutions to break fundraising records during the homecoming week. Clark Atlanta University secured more than $1.5 million in donor gifts during its first post-pandemic in-person homecoming. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) received a record $5 million gift from the Wingate Foundation during its homecoming week last year.
have not kept pace with advances in technology.
faculty and the future.
Leveling the playing field will require more than alumni generosity alone. It will take greater support from the federal government, corporations and philanthropists. And it will take long- term strategies to build assets and wealth. UNCF has prioritized building endowments that can produce reliable revenue streams for institutions for generations to come—an innovative approach to put HBCUs on better footing. Alumni, you don’t have to wait on any of this to act – you can take matters into your own hands by answering the call. This year let’s celebrate homecoming by doubling our giving. Challenge your classmates to match you. And get ready to demonstrate your commitment at tailgates. These are challenging times in higher education, especially for HBCUs. Such moments call for serious people, particularly HBCU alumni, to take serious action. The need will persist beyond the homecoming weekend, so alumni should also consider carrying this forward as a yearlong effort, with homecoming as the kickoff. I have spent my career watching HBCUs solidify their place as a consistent bright spot in American higher education, punching well above their weight. Investing in them is investing in excellence, opportunity and the American dream. The question, as always, is whether we will match our institutions’ effort with our own. I believe we will.
The maintenance of buildings, dorms and facilities has also fallen behind. A UNCF report revealed nearly two-thirds of HBCUs surveyed indicated they had more than $5 million in deferred maintenance. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), public HBCUs, on average, have total deferred maintenance of more than $60 million. Addressing this shortfall is more important today than ever. HBCUs must expand their capacity to meet evolving workforce needs. A changing economy, projected talent shortages and AI-driven disruption demand graduates with new skills. Despite generations of underfunding, HBCUs have consistently delivered results and are well positioned to prepare the next generation of leaders across every sector. The recent UNCF report, “Still Punching Above Their Weight,” reinforces the effectiveness of HBCUs. In 2022, HBCUs accounted for 16% of STEM degrees conferred to Black graduates including 20% of Black women. If America is serious about meeting its future challenges, it must ensure HBCUs have the financial strength and stability to serve students, uplift communities and advance the nation. So, this fall, I’m asking our alumni to do more than show up on campus. I am challenging our alumni to step up and build on the tradition of giving that has always made us strong. Recent research by the TIAA foundation revealed HBCU alumni participate in donating at or above the rate across U.S. higher education. Some HBCUs, such as Bennett, Claflin, Spelman and Tuskegee, have alumni who give at rates above 25%. However, the same research found that 95% of HBCU endowment funds are designated for student aid, compared with 40% nationally. This pattern creates a persistent shortfall in the resources that can be directed to other pressing needs – the buildings, the labs, the
This year, fundraising around homecoming is even more critical.
HBCUs are in the midst of a renaissance. They have never been more vital, visible, or in greater demand. HBCUs serve as economic engines for their surrounding communities, contributing $16.5 billion in total economic impact each year. They are hubs for research and innovation, and they remain, as they have always been, incubators of distinguished writers, artists and performers who shape this country’s culture. They are also magnets for promising scholars. A growing number of institutions are experiencing their highest enrollment in history. Students continue to be drawn to HBCUs to pursue academic excellence in culturally enriched environments and safe havens. Philanthropic leaders have taken notice, too. Major donors like MacKenzie Scott have made historic gifts to HBCUs, a powerful endorsement of their academic excellence and track record as a pathway to greater social mobility for graduates.
That’s the good news.
Now, the challenge: this renaissance is putting enormous pressure on the infrastructure and operating budgets of HBCUs. Too many of our institutions are struggling with a shortage of student housing and adequate classroom space and are educating in research labs that
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HBCU HOMECOMINGS Black Excellence on Full Display
BY DR. DAVID STATEN
You feel it before you ever reach the stadium. You hear it in the marching band rehearsing in the distance. You see it in the sea of school colors, Greek letters, alumni paraphernalia, and generations of graduates walking across campus as though they never left. You experience it in the embraces between classmates who may not have seen one another in ten, twenty, or even thirty years, yet somehow pick up exactly where they left off. For a few unforgettable days, the campus becomes more than a university. It becomes home again. HBCU Homecoming is certainly a celebration, but it is also something much greater. It is a living demonstration of history, achievement, culture, resilience, community, and possibility. There is something extraordinary about an HBCU Homecoming.
It is Black excellence on full display.
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relationships, and begin to imagine possibilities that may once have seemed unreachable.
In Washington, D.C., Howard University brings together generations of Bison whose influence reaches across politics, medicine, law, business, entertainment, journalism, technology, education, and the arts. Walking Howard's campus during Homecoming can feel like witnessing a living directory of Black achievement. In Baton Rouge, Southern University brings Louisiana culture and Jaguar pride together with the unmistakable sound of the Human Jukebox. In Huntsville, Alabama A&M University welcomes Bulldogs back to “The Hill,” while Jackson State University transforms Jackson into a celebration of Tiger Nation, with the Sonic Boom of the South providing the soundtrack. And then there is Tuskegee University, where Homecoming means returning not simply to a campus, but to a living legacy. To walk Tuskegee's historic grounds is to walk in the footsteps of Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, the Tuskegee Airmen, and generations of Black educators, scientists, health
THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME Every fall, accomplished alumni return to the institutions that helped shape their lives. They are educators, entrepreneurs, physicians, attorneys, engineers, scientists, executives, elected officials, entertainers, journalists, philanthropists, and community leaders. But something happens when they step back onto the Yard. For a moment, the titles disappear. They are students again. “Do you remember when?” Remember the residence hall. The professor who refused to let you quit. The cafeteria. The late-night study sessions. The friendships. The Greek plots. The first Homecoming. The professor who recognized something special in you before you recognized it in yourself. That is the power of coming home. HBCUs have always done more than award degrees. They create environments where students discover their voices, develop confidence, understand their history, form lifelong
Homecoming brings all of that rushing back.
DIFFERENT CAMPUSES. ONE EXTRAORDINARY TRADITION. Every HBCU brings its own personality, history, and cultural flavor to Homecoming. At Florida A&M University, orange and green take over Tallahassee as generations of Rattlers return to the Hill. The Marching 100, alumni gatherings, Greek life, fashion, food, football, and fellowship create an atmosphere that is unmistakably FAMU. At North Carolina A&T State University, it is not simply Homecoming. It is GHOE—the Greatest Homecoming on Earth. Greensboro becomes a sea of blue and gold as Aggies from across the nation return for one of the most recognizable celebrations in Black America. GHOE demonstrates what happens when institutional pride becomes cultural currency.
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care professionals, military leaders, and changemakers.
Alabama A&M. Jackson State. Tuskegee. South Carolina State. Different institutions. Different colors. Different traditions. One extraordinary story of Black excellence. MORE THAN A FOOTBALL GAME HBCU Homecoming has never been just about football.
without meaningful opportunities to connect.
Tuskegee reminds us of something essential: HBCUs are not simply part of Black history.
Institutions should intentionally build mentoring sessions, career conversations, classroom visits, networking receptions, entrepreneurship forums, internship opportunities, and leadership roundtables into Homecoming. Imagine a freshman meeting an alumna who once sat in the same classroom but now leads a major corporation. Imagine an engineering student meeting an alumnus who can offer an internship. Imagine a student entrepreneur meeting the person who becomes a mentor, investor, or business partner. Young people need advice, but sometimes they need something even more powerful.
They are still writing it.
SC STATE: THE LIVEST HOMECOMING IN AMERICA Then there is Orangeburg, South Carolina. At South Carolina State University, Bulldogs proudly call it “The Livest Homecoming in America.” When the Bulldogs come home, garnet and blue take over Orangeburg. From the excitement surrounding Oliver C. Dawson Stadium to the unmistakable sound of the Marching 101, SC State Homecoming celebrates generations of Bulldog excellence. Alumni gatherings, Greek life, reunions, tailgates, vendors, concerts, football, and fellowship transform the campus and surrounding community. The music may be loud. The stadium may be packed. The tailgates may be legendary.
It is family.
Grandparents bring grandchildren. Parents show their children where they lived. Former classmates introduce spouses and families. Alumni walk familiar pathways remembering who they were before careers, children, and life's responsibilities carried them in different directions.
But Homecoming also presents HBCUs with an extraordinary opportunity.
They need evidence of what is possible.
Think about who returns to campus. CEOs. Physicians. Engineers. Attorneys. Entrepreneurs. Educators. Technology executives. Government officials. Researchers. Corporate leaders. Philanthropists. Now think about who is sitting in our classrooms. The next generation.
TURN CELEBRATION INTO INVESTMENT
Homecoming should also become one of the greatest philanthropic opportunities on the HBCU calendar. The message should be simple: Come home. Celebrate. Reconnect. Invest.
But the greatest power is the people.
Those two groups should never occupy the same campus during Homecoming
Every alumnus cannot give $10,000, but almost everyone can participate.
FAMU. NC A&T. Howard. Southern.
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stories about the good old days. Celebrate your HBCU loudly and unapologetically.
Imagine thousands of alumni contributing $25, $100, $500, $1,000, or whatever reflects their ability. Collective giving could support scholarships, emergency assistance, undergraduate research, technology, athletics, academic programs, and transformational student experiences. And giving is not limited to money. Mentor a student. Offer an internship. Hire an HBCU graduate. Speak to a class. Serve on an advisory board. Support a student entrepreneur. Make an introduction.
activity, and the dollars flowing to Black- owned businesses.
Why?
But before you leave, do something for someone who is still becoming.
Because data creates leverage.
Meet a student. Share your story. Make an introduction.
If an HBCU Homecoming generates millions of dollars for a city or region, institutions should use those numbers when engaging municipalities, tourism agencies, chambers of commerce, corporations, hotels, restaurants, and other stakeholders. The question should be simple: Our institution is helping generate this economic activity. How are you investing in our university and our students? That leverage should translate into sponsorships, scholarships, internships, infrastructure improvements, corporate partnerships, and new opportunities for students.
Offer an internship. Become a mentor. Support a Black-owned business.
Write the check. Open the door.
Because the greatest tribute we can pay to the institutions that gave so much to us is to ensure they remain strong enough to give even more to the generations that follow.
Sometimes the greatest gift is access.
HOMECOMING IS BIG BUSINESS HBCUs must also recognize and leverage the enormous economic impact of Homecoming. When thousands of alumni descend on Tallahassee, Greensboro, Washington, Baton Rouge, Huntsville, Jackson, Tuskegee, Orangeburg, and other HBCU communities, hotels fill, restaurants are packed, transportation companies benefit, vendors thrive, and local businesses experience significant economic activity. HBCUs should document it. Institutions should conduct annual Homecoming economic-impact studies measuring visitors, hotel occupancy, spending, tax revenue, local business
Homecoming is about remembering where we came from.
But it must also be about investing in where we are going.
Communities should not simply benefit from HBCU Homecomings.
That is Homecoming with purpose. That is family. That is legacy in action. That is HBCU pride. And that is Black excellence on full display.
They should invest in the institutions that make them possible.
HOMECOMING WITH PURPOSE So come home.
Wear your colors. Walk the Yard. Dance to the band. Attend the game. Take the pictures. Laugh with old friends. Tell the
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Who Gets to Define HBCU Excellence? RETHINKING PREPARATION, POWER, AND THE FUTURE OF BLACK HIGHER EDUCATION BY CRYSTAL A. deGREGORY, PH.D.
“Illustrious” is a word every person in the Historically Black College and University community knows by heart. We use it to describe our institutions, their histories, and the people they have produced. But the future of HBCU excellence will require more than celebrating what has already been illustrious: our preparation of students for professional opportunity, our role in building the Black middle class, even our contribution to the creation of Black millionaires and billionaires. It will require deciding whether we are preparing Black students merely to thrive in the world as it is—or to remake it into something far better: decidedly anti-racist and unapologetically pro-Black. For generations, HBCU supporters have answered attacks on our relevance by insisting that our institutions prepare Black students for the “real world” as well as—and often better than— historically and predominantly white colleges and universities. The opposing argument has long suggested that Black- majority campuses shelter students from reality because the professional world they will enter is white. HBCU advocates have countered that our students learn to navigate that world
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without surrendering themselves to it. But even we should be careful to remember: whiteness is not the world. White America is not the whole United States, and the United States is certainly not the whole world. Across the African continent, throughout the African Diaspora, and among communities of color globally are nations, institutions, and economies that expose the intellectual smallness of treating white America as the natural scale of human existence. Black life is not a rehearsal for the real world. Black life is real life. Among racism’s many violences is the requirement that HBCUs prepare students to navigate racial prejudice. That preparation remains necessary. But necessity should not become the ceiling of aspiration. Teaching Black students only how to survive systems structured by white supremacy cannot be the benchmark by which we self-define HBCU excellence. Our history deserves and demands much more.
From their earliest years, Black college students challenged not only racial discrimination beyond the campus gates, but also paternalistic governance, restrictions on expression, and unequal conditions within their own institutions. By the 1920s, students at Fisk, Howard, Hampton, Florida A&M, and elsewhere were already pressing a foundational question: who gets to define what Black education is for? That tradition widened its reach in the mid-twentieth century. Students from Fisk University, American Baptist College, Tennessee State University, and other institutions organized the Nashville sit-ins. North Carolina A&T students helped ignite a national movement in Greensboro. Florida A&M students transformed Tallahassee through protest. Black student activists gathered at Shaw University to form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. And the tradition did not end there. HBCU students continued to challenge racism, war, apartheid, campus governance, political interference, sexual violence, and inequality within their
own institutions. Across generations, they have insisted that institutions created for Black advancement remain accountable to Black people themselves. These students did not merely prove that Black people could participate in American democracy.
They forged and forced the world to change.
And they did not become historically consequential because they followed every rule. They understood that some rules offered less protection than they projected other people’s fears, prejudices, and demands for control onto Black students. Their education mattered not simply because it taught them how to move through the world they inherited, but because it gave them tools with which to contest its terms. That larger tradition of Black education, so often told through the lives and leadership of Black men, also belongs to Black women. Black college women carried their education into intellectual work, activism, institution-building, and public life. Anna Julia Cooper insisted that Black women’s education was essential to the advancement of
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an entire people. Ida B. Wells turned evidence, investigative rigor, and organized resistance against racial terror. Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune transformed education, political strategy, and institution-building into enduring public power. Different as their work was, each rejected the proposition that Black advancement meant merely becoming more successful within an unequal order. Education had to enlarge Black capacity to expose injustice, exercise power, build institutions, and create something better. That distinction remains urgent because material achievement alone has never eliminated the structures Black people are being prepared to navigate. HBCUs awarded nearly 49,000 degrees during the 2021–22 academic year, yet Black graduates continue to carry disproportionate student debt. And in 2025, Black women—many of them educated, experienced, and employed in public service—ended the year with 113,000 fewer jobs. These women did not suddenly become less prepared, less disciplined, or less professional. Their losses reveal the limits of any theory of Black advancement that assigns individuals the burden of overcoming structural inequality through achievement and proper comportment. Which is why our fixation on student dress and deportment deserves far more scrutiny than we usually give it.
not merely clothing. Black students were being taught how to remain legible, grateful, and sufficiently unthreatening to the white people whose money helped sustain their institution. More than a century later, the terms have changed, but the question has not disappeared. Tuskegee University recently announced restrictions involving bonnets, durags, bedroom shoes, and expectations for business attire. Hampton University has long defended dress and appearance standards as part of its “Education for Life.” Many alumni embrace such policies as evidence of what makes HBCUs exceptional. I understand the appeal because I once made that case myself. My position was too small. I mistook instruction in navigating white expectations for a sufficient theory of Black education. The lesson is not that clothing never matters. It plainly can. The lesson is that standards are never politically neutral. We must ask who establishes them, whose comfort they secure, what behavior they reward, and toward what conception of Black advancement they point. Student choices are not meaningless. Discernment, self-command, discipline, and an understanding of professional context remain valuable. But their influence on an institution’s future is small compared with the power exercised from the boardroom table to the president’s office and lived through administrators, faculty, staff, and students. A student’s clothing may shape a passing perception. Trustees determine governance, accountability, presidential selection, and institutional direction. Presidents establish priorities and culture. Administrators control policy and enforcement. Faculty and staff determine whether proclaimed values
That fixation is hardly new.
become lived reality. Failed leadership can compromise accreditation, finances, academic freedom, employee well-being, student safety, and public trust for generations. Any serious definition of HBCU excellence must scrutinize those with the greatest power at least as rigorously as it regulates those with the least.
In the late nineteenth century, Meharry medical student Charles Victor Roman recalled that he and his classmates attempted to change their “hats and coats.” The class was summoned to chapel, where white President John Braden delivered an impassioned lecture on modesty, common sense, and economy—and warned, among other things, that white benefactors might resent seeing students dressed better than they were. The issue was
Black respectability turns toxic when we
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cannot dismantle systems whose power exceeds the individual.
Black student activists while punishing principled dissent among HBCU students, faculty, and staff today. We cannot teach students to challenge injustice in the world while treating trustees, presidents, and administrators as though accountability stops at the campus gates. We cannot claim to be laboratories of Black possibility while reproducing fear, hierarchy, silence, and control inside institutions founded because Black people dared to imagine otherwise. The future of HBCU excellence must be visible in governance, faculty freedom, workplace culture, student voice, financial stewardship, curriculum, research agendas, community relationships, and the courage to confront our own failures without confusing criticism with betrayal. At their best, HBCUs have never simply prepared Black people to enter somebody else’s future. They have helped Black people imagine futures that did not yet exist—and then supplied the teachers, preachers, organizers, thinkers, professionals, artists, institution-builders, and troublemakers necessary to bring them into being.
So what, then, must excellence require? It must require more than placement rates, polished résumés, respectable presentation, and access to institutions whose underlying assumptions we leave unquestioned. It must prepare students to understand how power works: who makes policy, who controls capital, who governs institutions, whose knowledge is legitimized, whose dissent is punished, and whose interests are protected. It must prepare students not only to enter professions but to interrogate them. A lawyer should understand how law has both protected and denied Black freedom. A physician should understand how race has structured health and access to care. A teacher should know that curriculum is never politically innocent. An entrepreneur should understand that wealth creation without community consequence is not the only imaginable measure of success. HBCU graduates should leave our institutions prepared not merely to occupy existing structures, but to ask whether those structures deserve to survive unchanged.
That demands a different understanding of preparation.
That is the inheritance worth calling illustrious.
It does not reject excellence. It refuses to define excellence by whiteness, proximity to white institutions, white standards of appropriateness, wealth, or prestige. It does not reject professionalism. It rejects professionalism as the ultimate measure.
And that is the measure before us now: not merely whether our students can survive the world they inherit, nor even whether they can prosper within it, but whether our institutions equip them with the knowledge, courage, discipline, imagination, collective responsibility, and power required to make that world more just than they found it.
require it to bear the weight of righting racism, sexism, classism, and the many other inequalities reproduced through white supremacy. Martin Luther King Jr., Morehouse’s most internationally recognized alumnus, was assassinated in business attire. Sandra Bland had earned her Prairie View A&M University degree and secured a position at her alma mater before a traffic stop led to her arrest and death in a Texas jail. Attire, credentials, employment, and individual discipline
It does not reject discipline. It asks: discipline for what purpose?
Anything less may be preparation.
And that standard cannot apply only to our students.
But it is way too small to be our definition of HBCU excellence—or, ultimately, of Black excellence itself.
The future of HBCU excellence must be not merely individual, but institutional. We cannot credibly venerate yesterday’s
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There's No Place Like HOMECOMING AT FAMU BY ZERLINE HUGHES SPRUILL
Superseding the energy of the PWI homecoming experience, HBCUs have turned the century-old observance of migrating back to alma mater on its head. The annual football-centered fall event that centers football around reuniting with classmates and faculty is mixed with ancestral and modern traditions of the Black diaspora and Americana. Today, institutions like Florida A&M University coordinate fashion shows, tailgates, concerts, a call to chapel, color guard performances, step shows, and so much more, to create a spirit that makes it irresistible for alumni to miss the week-long party of the year. "It’s like a family reunion on steroids," said Dr. Brandi Tatum-Fedrick, FAMU vice president of university advancement. "If you're someone who loves family, it feels like a big hug. When you come back here, your soul is at ease. I think there are other homecomings across the country that do the same, but there is no better homecoming than FAMU.”
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No one knows that better than Tatum- Fedrick. As vice president of university advancement, and executive director of the FAMU Foundation, she has sat on the university's homecoming committee for 20 years, and chaired it for the last three. Before moving into advancement, she worked in student affairs and coached college cheerleading. She is also a two-time FAMU alumna, so she knows FAMU homecoming from all sides and perspectives. BUILDING THE ORANGE BRICK ROAD OF FAMU HOMECOMING Tatum-Fedrick compares building homecoming to planning a wedding — except instead of one day, she and the committee are planning for a week-long event. FAMU's homecoming committee is a mix of faculty, staff and students, each with a different idea of what the week should look like. “I think we’ve done an excellent job this year of merging the two worlds,” Tatum-Fedrick said about the student and alumni homecoming experience. “There’s a shared responsibility on whom homecoming is for. We ask ourselves ‘how do we put on a great homecoming that is welcoming to alumni and also allows the students to have fun?’ We are making sure both worlds are combined. The hardest part
is finding the right fit for the week, in the right amount of time.”
joked Tatum-Fedrick.
Nonetheless, the university is revered for is signature events and engagement opportunities tailored for students and alumni. Signature and new activities this year include: • Convocation, a high-energy program allowing students, alumni, faculty and staff to share space under one roof in its Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center; • Church service, a faith-based event inviting attendees to wear their Sunday-best orange and green combinations and pray in a successful homecoming week;
Once upon a time, it was the football game that fueled any univeristy's homecoming excitement. This year's homecoming game may inspire as it will be the first under the new head football coach and FAMU, alumnus Quinn Gray Sr. Nonetheless, back in the old days, some campuses were lucky enough to have a pep squad on deck to maintain excitement during lulls in a game. As time progressed, some campuses held a homecoming court, a small parade or a dance. Then, college student interest in homecoming grew. Means to travel became more accessible, allowing alumni to leave their hometowns to return to campus en masse. Institutions responded, garnering financial support from partnerships and alumni. Budgets increased, and so did the homecoming experience. For FAMU, performances by the Venom Pom Squad, FAMU Elite Dance Squad, and the Marching 100, in addition to the panhellenic and housing step shows entered the homecoming chat – and a theme to round it all out and make it pop.
•
Concert, an R&B, hip-hop and rap performance featuring artists Summer Walker, T.I., Gunna and Belly Gang Kushington; Alumni donor luncheon, the university's first time celebrating sponsors, donors and individual alumni contributors; FAMU Under 40 Awards, a gala recognizing Rattlers who exemplify the institution's legacy of leadership, innovation and service;
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"We can't spend all of our resources, because we have to live after that,"
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during their respective anniversary years. The goal is to raise $50,000 per class for the university. “Reunion classes are expected to present a minimum $25,000 check during the week, and this year's affinity classes brought in more than $400,000 combined,” said Tatum-Fedrick. “They don’t take four and five years to raise money; they start raising money at the end of the year. ” One class marking a milestone anniversary is taking five years to raise money, but it has set a giving goal of $1 million. "Donations don't come just because they graduated," said Tatum- Fedrick. "They look to see how we're going to steward their investment. Homecoming is for current admin to show the great work we’re doing. In order to be a true alum — 10 toes down — I need you. Come get your fix on barbecue, and know that we’re gonna’ love on you, promote you, and we’re gonna’ ask for your money.”
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Parade, an annual gathering that features more than 100 organizations, marching bands, dance troupes, civic groups, and elected officials, spreading Rattler spirit across the streets of Tallahassee.
MORE THAN A PARTY: HOMECOMING'S RETURN ON INVESTMENT Hidden in plain sight between the concerts, parties and step shows sits a bigger priority. Homecoming is, by a wide margin, FAMU's single largest fundraising event of the year. The various events, including the smaller gatherings, allow university leaders an in-person touchpoint to connect in a deeper way with graduates and FAMU supporters. “Homecoming allows us to touch a dynamic group we don’t always get to reach quarterly or annually,” said Tatum- Fedrick of alumni that return to FAMU sparingly or may not respond to mailed solicitation letters. “We do a great job engaging our alumni during homecoming who connect to their freshman year. They come back to celebrate, but initially it’s about raising money for students.” FAMU has commissioned more than 10 alumni classes to raise money over a year's time to present to the institution
This year's theme is, "There's No Place Like the Hill." It is built around the climatic scene in fiction novel and Academy Award-winning movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” where Dorothy clicks her ruby slippers three times and says, “There's No Place Like Home.” Marketing for the event includes sleek graphics featuring sparkling orange slippers on an orange brick road that lead to Emerald City – the two colors of the 139-year-old institution. “When you talk about inviting individuals back, there’s no place like home,” said Tatum-Fedrick. “That makes us special, FAMU feels like home. It is a place where, when you come back here, your soul is at ease. You can be a part of homecoming from afar, but it’s nothing like coming in and getting your cup full. Returning home helps you transcend as the person you came in at 19 or as non-traditional student in your 20s or 30s. Come back to visit your college and school. See your dean. See how you can mentor the next generation. See how your company can be a partner and invest.” Alumni unable to go to homecoming can attend select events virtually.
" When you talk about inviting individuals back, there’s no place like home. That makes us special, FAMU feels like home. It is a place where, when you come back here, your soul is at ease. " - DR. BRANDI TATUM-FEDRICK
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