AS THE LEADERSHIP OF HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES POSITION THEIR institutions to meet the growing challenges of the 21st century, I am excited by the potential of a partnership that has the possibilities of transformational empowerment for these institutions.
The partnership I am suggesting is one in which HBCUs partner with Black investment banks and asset management firms to conduct these schools’ capital campaigns.
I considered this concept when I read about Black CEOs and owners of investment banks and asset management firms; these outstanding Black Wall Street power brokers are responsible for billions of dollars at their respective firms.
HBCUs have played and will continue to play a significant role in the production of trained human capital to assist with this nation’s global market competitiveness. However, HBCUs have often been underfunded. The continued lack of private philanthropy to this sector is significant given that institutional endowment growth primarily occurs through successful capital campaigns. Therefore, the challenge for HBCUs is to upgrade their institutional capital infrastructure to do the capacity-building needed to train 21st-century students for leadership roles.
