Expansion of Title III aid to minority institutions and TRIO programs for disadvantaged youth emerged as top priorities at a December 17 public hearing on Higher Education Act (MEA) reauthorization in Washington, D.C.

Leaders of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) sought continued support for Title III plus programmatic changes to increase the program's flexibility. For example, Congress could help HBCUs immensely by allowing them to spend up to 20 percent of Title III funding to build their endowments, said Dr. Earl Richardson, president of Morgan. State University.

Richardson, representing the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Education (NAFEO), also urged the Education Department (ED) to "reconsider" the current policy that requires Black graduate schools to match any Title III grant of more than $500,000.

The federal government currently provides $108.9 million in aid to HBCUs plus $19.6 million for HBCU graduate institutions.

TRIO drew support from a variety of higher-education groups which praised the program's efforts to recruit low-income, first-generation students to college.

Despite its successful track record, TRIO currently serves only 5 percent of eligible students, said James Perley, president of the American Association of University Professors. He also called on the federal government to use TRIO as an incentive to more federal grant aid. The government could provide a slightly larger Pell Grant to those who successfully complete a TRIO program, thereby cutting their future loan burden.

During the presidential campaign, President Clinton called for allowing families to deduct college tuition costs of up to $10,000 a year from their income taxes. He also called for $1,500 in aid to help students pay for the first two years of college if they maintain a B average.

Those testifying at the hearing took a cautious view of Clinton's plan to expand tax breaks for college, saying direct service and grant programs are a higher priority.

J. Guadalupe Valtierra, president of the National Council of Educational Opportunity Associations and director of student services at Ivy Tech State College in Gary, Indiana, suggests that instead of focusing first on the Clinton proposals, Congress and ED should focus on expansion of TRIO and Pell Grants, which then could be "complemented by tax breaks."

"Tax breaks are disproportionately weighted toward middle-in-come individuals," said Valtierra.

A top administration official agreed that tax breaks serve only a limited population. "Tax breaks don't help poor folks very much," said David Longanecker, assistant ED secretary for post-secondary education, who presided over the hearing.

Hispanic-serving institutions, which currently receive only $10.8 million a year through Title III, also used the public hearing to call for more federal aid.

The current allotment for these institutions "falls far short of the $45 million authorized," said Antonio Flores, president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

There was also a call for continued support for existing student financial-aid programs, including Pell Grants and campus-based aid. The administration must focus on needy students, not just those whose grades merit aid, several officials said.

The Washington hearing was the last in a series of seven nationwide meetings in which ED sought public input. The department will continue to accept public comments through late January and will issue a reauthorization plan by late winter or early spring. Congress also will begin its own HEA hearings early in 1997.

Clinton Completes Cabinet; Riley Stays

President Clinton completed his second-term cabinet just before Christmas with a series of appointments for domestic-policy posts.

As expected, Education Secretary Richard Riley will return for the start of the president's second term. Riley's team will design the administration's approach to reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

Many other cabinet-level agencies changed hands, however. At the Labor Department, Alexis M. Herman was tapped to replace outgoing secretary Robert Reich. Herman, an African American, has worked with the Labor Department at various times since the 1970s.

Other new cabinet nominees include Rodney E. Slater for secretary of Transportation, Andrew Cuomo for secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Federico Pena for secretary of Energy.

Slater, an African American, has been an aide to Clinton since the president's terms as governor of Arkansas. Cuomo is the son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo (D). Pena served as secretary of transportation throughout Clinton's first term.

The nominations of Herman, Slater, Cuomo and Pena now go to the Senate, which must confirm the president's choices.