HBCU an institutional priority. The university reports that it now exceeds Carnegie’s R1 thresholds for research expenditures and doctoral-degree production and expects to receive formal recognition when the next classifications are announced in 2028. In other successes, NCAT faculty secured nearly $96.2 million in research contracts and grants in fiscal year 2025, following a record $102 million the previous year. The university also reports attracting approximately $350 million in research funding over three years. Morgan State University is also moving rapidly toward R1 status. The university secured a record $104.4 million in research commitments during fiscal year 2025, a nearly 18% increase from the previous year’s $88.5 million. Morgan projects more than $65 million in research expenditures, placing it above Carnegie’s R1 spending threshold. Increasing research doctorate production is also central to Morgan’s path toward achieving the designation. HBCUs’ pursuit of greater research capacity is also no longer confined to individual institutions. In April 2026, 15 HBCUs publicly launched the Association of HBCU Research Institutions (AHRI). The organization had been incorporated in 2023, but its national launch represented the first public announcement of the full coalition. AHRI’s members are: Clark Atlanta University, Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Morgan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Prairie View A&M University,
South Carolina State University, Southern University and A&M College, Tennessee State University, Texas Southern University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Virginia State University. In addition to Howard, which, as noted, is an R1, 13 of the HBCUs are classified as R2s. And the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore is listed as a Research College and University. The R2 category requires at least $5 million in annual research spending and 20 research doctorates. AHRI is working with the Association of American Universities (AAU), and its offices are co-located at AAU’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Harvard University’s Legacy of Slavery Initiative is providing roughly $1 million over three years, along with technical support from Harvard’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research. According to AHRI, its 15 members collectively receive approximately half of all competitively awarded federal research funding going to HBCUs. During this highly significant moment for Black higher education, I believe an important question is how HBCUs can develop a better research-university model than their predominantly white counterparts. Traditional research universities are evaluated by research spending, doctoral production, faculty productivity, publications, patents, and prestige. Carnegie’s R1 designation itself measures only research expenditures and research doctorates. It does not measure whether undergraduates participate in research, whether the
work responds to community priorities, or whether the resulting discoveries improve people’s lives. HBCUs have an opportunity to expand the definition of research excellence. For example, at Howard, researchers are working in AI, medicine, public health, economics, engineering, and the humanities. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense selected Howard as the first HBCU to lead a University Affiliated Research Center. In addition, Howard established its Center for Sickle Cell Disease in 1972, creating a long-term institutional home for research and treatment related to a disease that disproportionately affects people of African descent. The university also researches racial disparities in employment, income, health, and wealth. Howard leaders have identified these areas as examples of questions HBCUs may prioritize when other research institutions do not. Morgan State is also developing another model. Its Center for Equitable Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning examines algorithmic bias and works to make AI systems more trustworthy and equitable. The State of Maryland provides the center with recurring support as one of Morgan’s designated research “Peaks of Excellence.” Morgan has also established a Center for Urban and Coastal Climate Science Research. The center connects climate science with public health, environmental health, AI, machine learning, and the experiences of urban and coastal populations. Its work addresses problems such as flooding, extreme weather, environmental
HBCU TIMES FALL ISSUE 2026 | 4 3
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