As Students Turn Their Backs, HBCU Leaders Still Want to Work With Trump

When Donald J. Trump won the presidency, many leaders of historically black colleges were wary of what the next four years would hold. But in this uncertainty, some saw an opportunity.

On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump spoke sparingly about higher education and his policy goals — and aside from a speech in October, his aims were undefined. Black-college leaders argued that the blank slate could allow their sector to gain more prominence in the higher-education agenda of the Trump administration.

“The election of Donald Trump is a tremendous opportunity to launch a renaissance of black colleges,” Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University, wrote in The Chronicle shortly after the election. That renaissance, he added, would require black-college leaders to support advocacy organizations like the United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, as well as work with members of the U.S. Congress.

Those efforts gained traction early on as the Trump administration spotlighted the sector as an area ripe for the president’s attention. But over the last several months, a number of fumbles by the administration, followed by public criticism, has left many wondering what the future may hold for the relationship.

On a whole, HBCUs receive roughly a quarter of their funding from the federal government, so leaders view a good working relationship with the party in power as fundamental to their well-being. And as some students and HBCU advocates may be ready to wash their hands of the Trump administration, the colleges’ leaders are not.

“The leaderships of the institutions, the presidents and the boards of trustees, understand that this is an enduring relationship which has to be cultivated, stewarded, and navigated carefully for the good of the institutions,” Michael L. Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund, said in an interview with The Chronicle.

And even though close observers say the Trump administration has a lot to learn about the institutions and how to demonstrate its commitment to them, HBCU leaders are far from writing off the relationship as a lost cause.

A ‘Steep Learning Curve’

During a trip to Washington in February, HBCU presidents and chancellors met with the Trump administration to press their cause. Several were scheduled to give presentations to Ms. DeVos during a “listening session,” advocating different policy goals for the sector. One of those expected to speak was Mr. Kimbrough, of Dillard.

He had hoped that the experience would begin to give the secretary a solid footing on HBCUs, their history, needs, and concerns. However the event was “derailed,” he said, by an impromptu photo opportunity with President Trump and the black college leaders. Mr. Kimbrough said the event threw off the day’s schedule and shortened the listening session. He posted his planned comments online.

In an interview with The Chronicle last week, he said that missed opportunity for a dialogue was one of his main regrets from the February meeting. The administration has a “steep learning curve,” he said, adding that many of its public misstatements are, at least in part, a result of a lack of knowledge on the administration’s part. “I really wish the secretary could have had an hour with the presidents,” he said. “She needed that,” he continued, “and maybe there’s still an opportunity for us to do it.”

Dissatisfaction with the Trump administration manifested itself last week, when Ms. DeVos took the commencement stage at Bethune-Cookman University to deafening boos. The protest had a ripple effect as, days later, Texas Southern University canceled a speech by Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, to avoid a confrontation. Many of the students and HBCU advocates who were opposed to Ms. DeVos’s delivering the commencement address at Bethune-Cookman pointed to the administration’s perceived lack of knowledge about black colleges. The critics contend that administration officials should be listening to stakeholders instead of speaking to them. Listening, the critics add, would prevent public flaps such as the ones that erupted after Ms. DeVos called black colleges “real pioneers when it comes to school choice” and President Trump suggested that helping black colleges build new buildings could be unconstitutional.

But as the administration continues to get feedback from black colleges and learn from it, says Mr. Lomax, of the United Negro College Fund, it is able to get a “fuller picture” of the sector and its needs.

Edison O. Jackson, Bethune-Cookman’s president, said Ms. DeVos was “upbeat” about her experience there in spite of the commencement protest. “It was a little tumultuous, but over all she had a very positive response to her experience there,” he recalled the secretary telling him the morning of her address. She felt a “real kinship” to the institution, he said. “I think these are all good signs” he continued, “because the relationship between the federal government and HBCUs is very consequential.”

Mr. Lomax said he hopes that by continuing to work on, and build, the relationship with the Trump administration, the sector will be able to secure some of its big policy objectives, such as fully funding HBCU programs under Title III and increasing Pell Grant funding.

Working With Congress

The executive branch is not the only place where HBCU leaders have consequential relationships in Washington. Several leaders have pointed to the U.S. Congress as a relationship that should not be overlooked.

“It just seems like all of a sudden there’s more emphasis being placed on what the president and the Department of Education will do,” Mr. Kimbrough said. “But I don’t want us to minimize how much good work we can get done with our congresspeople and with our senators.” Those relationships, he said, which began long before February but were deepened here in Washington, have already proved fruitful. He pointed to a move by Congress to reinstate year-round Pell Grants, a wish-list item among many institutions, but particularly HBCUs.

Some of the same members of Congress who are working on behalf of HBCUs, however, have been among the fiercest critics of the Trump administration’s regard for the institutions. That makes less likely the possibility that the executive and legislative branches will work together toward a favorable policy on HBCUs.

Following the release of the Trump administration’s budget blueprint, Rep. Alma S. Adams, Democrat of North Carolina, said that the administration’s claims of support for HBCUs “rang hollow.” And recently, Rep. Cedric Richmond, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Rep. John Conyers Jr., Democrat of Michigan, said that the public overtures from the president amounted to little more than public-relations stunts.

Nonetheless Mr. Lomax hopes that by continuing to build bridges with the Trump administration, HBCUs can command the spotlight and build a rapport that can sustain and improve the sector. “That is why we came to Washington in such large numbers in February,” he said. “It wasn’t for a photo. It was to begin to make the case to the administration and the members of Congress.”

And that is a long-term process.

Adam Harris is a breaking-news reporter. Follow him on Twitter @AdamHSays or email him at adam.harris@chron icle.com.

Correction (5/17/2017, 6:37 p.m.): This article originally misstated whether Mr. Kimbrough participated in the photo with President Trump. He did, but he was not visible because he was standing in the back. The article has been updated to reflect this correction.