In a move that surprised alumni and other observers, Tuskegee University officials recently decided to close its long established Washington office and hire lobbyists instead.
Among the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Tuskegee University is renowned for its carefully cultivated relationship with the federal government, a relationship which has brought the school millions of dollars in federal funding. "Federal support is critical to Tuskegee," said Michael Hill, senior vice-president of institutional advancement at Tuskegee. "We're known for a number of innovative programs, and the federal government has helped us with that."
Tuskegee University receives grants from the Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Department of Energy.
Hill says that closing the Washington office does not mean Tuskegee is scaling down its federal activities but that a lobbying or a law firm will help it keep and increase the necessary federal support.
By hiring such a firm to represent its interests on Capitol Hill, Tuskegee joins a growing list of historically Black colleges which are aggressively seeking federal grants with the help of lobbyists.
In the bruising world of congressional appropriations, Washington, D.C., attorney-lobbyist Anita Estell knows the score. A vice-president at the lobbying firm of Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc., Estell counts Spelman College as one of several clients she represents before the U.S. Congress and the federal agencies.
Spelman College President Dr. Johnetta Cole credits Estell with having helped raise Spelman's profile in Washington so much that the African-American women's liberal arts college secured federal funding commitments in excess of $21 million for Spelman and other HBCUs in less than three years.
