HBCU Presidents not impressed with Trump meeting

The Trump administration made a big deal of the meeting between Trump and several HBCU Presidents. Trump claimed that the meeting was successful and that it would help HBCUs. Well some HBCU Presidents such as Morehouse College's Dr. John Wilson Jr., and Dillard University's Walter M. Kimbrough didn't see it that way.

Statement from Dr. John Wilson Jr, Morehouse College: 

In a report from Fox 5 Atlanta, Morehouse College President Dr. John Wilson Jr., said that the White House had created high expectations after calling Trump’s executive order historic and revolutionary.

However, what the executive order really did was transfer the initiative on HBCUs from the Department of Education into the Executive Office of the White House. Also, no money is tied to the order. 

“I don’t mind saying, that we were — a number of us — were disappointed, not because of what we thought on our own leading up to this meeting, but what we were led to think,” Wilson said. “And so I think it was a little underwhelming to see that the most tangible differentiator that happened here was an office relocation.” [SOURCE]

Statement From Walter M. Kimbrough, Dillard University:

On Friday I learned that I was selected to give remarks today for the meeting at the White House with members of the Trump administration, most notably Secretary Betsy DeVos. We learned this weekend that there would be closing remarks by Vice President Pence, but the goal was for officials from a number of Federal agencies (about 5 were there including OMB) and Secretary DeVos to hear about HBCUs.

That all blew up when the decision was made to take the presidents to the Oval Office to see the President. I’m still processing that entire experience. But needless to say that threw the day off and there was very little listening to HBCU presidents today- we were only given about 2 minutes each, and that was cut to one minute, so only about 7 of maybe 15 or so speakers were given an opportunity today. [SOURCE]

PRESIDENT OBAMA DID HELP HBCUS

What Trump's executive order on HBCUs actually does

Trump made a big deal about the photo-op, oops I mean meeting he had with the Presidents of HBCUs from across the country this week. He made an even bigger deal of the executive order he signed to help HBCUs ( one that doesn't give any additional funding to the schools). The executive order itself isn't that much different from President Obama's order on HBCUs (yes he had one too), except in one way involving the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

From HBCU Digest:

The Trump executive order officially moves the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities from the US Department of Education to the White House, where it will function under the supervision of a presidentially-appointed executive director. The new order also mandates that federal agencies identified as active or potential funding matches for HBCU programs will have 90 days to submit reports to the White House on how they will leverage public and private resources to build capacity at black colleges.

The order maintains an advisory board on HBCUs, which will meet twice yearly to brief President Trump on trends among federal agencies relative to funding and industrial challenges. HBCU presidents were particularly critical of President Obama for declining to attend any of the advisory board meetings or the annual national conference on HBCUs throughout his eight years in office.

Much of the order mirrors the guiding document issued by President Obama, which similarly called for increased advocacy on behalf of HBCUs by way of agency liaisons, annual reports and increased communications between the government and institutions.

But the order does not outline specific goals sought by an advocacy coalition comprised of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the United Negro College Fund; most notably, an aspirational goal that HBCUs be awarded five percent of total federal grant, internship and cooperative agreement funding; and 10 percent of total federal contract funding awarded to colleges and universities, which supporters say would nearly double federal support to HBCUs.

President Obama did help HBCUs