Government calls out several states for underfunding HBCUs

The Biden administration says historically black land-grant universities in Tennessee and 15 other US states have missed out on US$12.6 billion in funding over the last three decades, reports The Associated Press.

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack sent letters to the governors of each state asking them to increase funding, news outlets reported. The letter said the largest disparity was in Tennessee, where Tennessee State University has been underfunded by US$2.1 billion.

“Unacceptable funding inequities have forced many of our nation’s distinguished historically black colleges and universities [HBCUs] to operate with inadequate resources and delay critical investments in everything from campus infrastructure to research and development to student support services,” Cardona said in a statement on Monday 18 September. Letters were also sent to governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
Full report on the NBC News site