Dr. Richard Vedder
Debtwire quotes Dr. Richard Vedder, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics at Ohio University, in a story headlined “Historically black colleges struggle as more students pursue ‘mainstream’ educations.”
Through 1980, enrollment grew at HBCUs, but that has changed as more black students look to “traditional or mainstream” universities, said Richard Vedder, professor emeritus at Ohio University. The false perception is that the mainstream schools provide better programs or more opportunities upon graduation, which implies HBCUs are medium-to-low quality institutions, he said.
“HBCUs as a group are in trouble, no doubt about it,” Vedder said. “Enrollments have fallen substantially and endowments are very low at most of these schools, and therefore have little cushion, though that’s offset by federal support to HBCUs, which have kept them alive.”
Some are much better positioned than others, and will certainly survive, such as Spellman College in Atlanta or Howard University in Washington, D.C., but there are others “in deep trouble,” Vedder said.
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