ATLANTA
Historically Black colleges and universities, which for decades have been educating students who can’t afford to go — or can’t imagine going — elsewhere, have been particularly challenged by the nation’s economic meltdown.
Enrollments at the schools have declined, and at the same time endowments have dropped and fundraising sources have dried up. The same is true at most universities, but often students at HBCUs need more aid to stay on course.
“What’s most difficult for our institutions is that they are tuition-driven,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund. “They don’t have large endowments, and even the ones who do, have seen a large reduction in the value of those endowments.”
Most colleges are dealing with economic problems. One recently released survey on 791 American public and private colleges reported that endowments fell 3 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, and a smaller group estimated a 23 percent drop in the first five months of fiscal year 2009, which began in July. The numbers represent a decline nearly double that of any full-year return since such figures were first tracked in 1974.
