Howard University may disappear if it doesn’t fix financial problems, says trustee
Howard University is in financial trouble and may disappear if
it doesn’t learn to be more efficient in the way that it’s being
managed. All of this is part of the claim of a vice chairwoman of the
school’s board of trustees, who feels that the school may be digging
itself into a financial grave.
According to a report published this week as part of a letter in The
Chronicle of Higher Education, Renee Higginbotham-Brooks said that
“Howard will not be here in three years if we don’t make some crucial
decisions now.”
The letter is dated April 24
th and lists quite a few
reasons that the school is going to continue to have trouble due to
some very bad financial habits and circumstances.
According to Higginbotham-Brooks, Howard is facing sever e
competition from less-expensive state universities and a drop in
federal support from the Obama Administration. She also claims that the
university’s staff is entirely too large, and that the school has not
invested in developing a strong fundraising system.
Rachel Mann, a spokeswoman for Howard, wasn’t saying much about the
letter, and only deferred questions to the board chairman, Addison
Barry Rand.
“Spirited debate and discourse are part of the culture of higher
education,” said Rand. “The board and the university’s leadership team
continue to work tirelessly to address many of the tough issues facing
colleges and universities like Howard.”
Higginbotham-Brooks is a Howard University graduate and attorney in
Fort Worth, Texas. She has been on the board since 1997 and vice
chairwoman since 2005.
Howard’s president, Sidney A. Ribeau, has been accused by
Higginbotham-Brooks of being an ineffective leader. Also, in 2012,
faculty senate leaders protested bonuses given to administrators in the
middle of budget cuts.
Dr. Boyce Watkins
recently supported another HBCU president,
Dr. Walter Kimbrough, when he appealed to Dr. Dre, asking why he gave
$35 million to USC instead of an HBCU. Dr. Watkins says that everyone
who cares about the African American community should support an HBCU,
even if they didn’t attend one, since these schools are a critical part
of educating Black students.
At the same time, Dr. Watkins says that the public should speak up
honestly about areas in which HBCUs can and should do a better job.
“It’s a shame that so many Black colleges struggle while Black
athletes earn billions for predominantly white universities,” said Dr.
Watkins, who says he once applied for a position at Howard University.
“But we must also be honest when our schools are being run
inefficiently. I’ve heard quite a few complaints from both students
and faculty about Howard’s stubbornness when it comes to making changes
that are critical for its survival. Even when my friend and I both
applied to Howard after getting our PhDs, we were stunned at how
disorganized and unresponsive the administration was when reviewing our
applications. It actually made me sad.”
We really need Howard University alums to please speak up about this matter at hand. There are to may of our HBCU's doing down hill and I am upset about the way HBCU's are heading.