Last week, the Huffington Post released an article about young, successful Historically Black College and University graduates to look out for in 2013. Despite theses successes, some HBCU alumnae are hesitant to encourage others to attend.
Dr. Jerainne Johnson-Heywood and Dr. Scherise Mitchell-Jordan both attended Morgan State University during the 90’s. Even after expressing gratitude for their college experiences, neither feels inclined to send their children to a predominately black college. A few of their reasons included the lack of freedoms that other schools enjoy such as visitation leniency and study abroad opportunities. They feel that the practices currently used are old and out of touch with today’s culture.
“It is a good environment where professors look like you and share your experience. They have advanced degrees, and you get to see that accomplished black people aren’t just athletes or celebrities. However, there is a stigma of HBCUs that seems to hold graduates back more than it seems to push them forward. It seems that employers, peers in the workplace look down upon you because of your background at an HBCU.”
Many schools have improved their career advisement and customer services over the years, however, alumni spending on HBCUs is below 10-percent with questions increasing about their financial futures. Both Johnson-Heywood and Mitchell Jordan agree that black schools have improved since they attended, but still have much to improve on in order to compete with other universities.
Read the full article on the Huffington Post.
BMWK–Do you agree with their opinions? What positive or negative traits stand out about the progress of HBCUs?