Page 10 The Skanner August 30, 2017
News
One of the Oldest HBCUs in the Country Could Fold in September
By Stacy M. Brown
Washington Informer/
NNPA Member
A
ft er years of fi nan-
cial trouble and
heartbreaking en-
rollment decline,
Cheyney University, one
of the oldest Black insti-
tutions of higher educa-
tion in America, is on the
verge of fi scal ruin and
in danger of losing its ac-
creditation.
Cheyney’s
problems
have sparked rallies, pro-
tests and an outpouring
of support and outrage
from state senators,
alumni and others.
“On the one hand, it’s
tragic. On the fl ip side,
this didn’t happen over-
night,” said Johnny Tay-
lor Jr., the president and
CEO of the Thurgood
Marshall College Fund.
“While there were all
sorts of other factors,
including a bad econo-
my in 2008 and state and
federal [agencies] that
failed to help, this still re-
fl ects badly on Cheyney’s
board of trustees and the
university’s president.”
Founded in 1837, by
Richard
Humphreys,
a reformed slave trad-
er, Cheyney represents
more than just a place of
learning, said Pennsyl-
vania State Representa-
tive Stephen Kinsey, who
recently joined students
and others at a rally for
the school.
“Cheyney represents
the struggle of being
Black in America, fi ght-
ing to be recognized,
speaking up to be sup-
ported, and a never-end-
ing struggle to be treated
equally,” Kinsey said.
A report issued by
the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights noted
that, although HBCUs
only make up three per-
cent of today’s colleges
and universities, more
than 20 percent of Afri-
can-American
college
graduates attend an
HBCU.
“For years, these his-
toric institutions have
“
struggles as funding to
the school decreased and
tuition rose. Since 2010,
enrollment dropped 50
percent from over 1,500
students to an estimated
746.
Since 2013, Cheyney
has borrowed over $30.5
million to stay solvent
and, if school offi cials
can’t deliver a plan that
satisfi es the Middle
States Commission on
Higher Education, the
school could lose its ac-
creditation in Septem-
ber.
This would be par-
ticularly
devastating,
because the school’s ac-
While there were all sorts
of other factors, including
a bad economy in 2008 and
state and federal [agencies]
that failed to help, this still
refl ects badly on Cheyney’s
board of trustees and the
university’s president.
produced amazing lead-
ers, that not only con-
tribute to their respec-
tive fi elds, but who also
pride themselves on
their ‘lift ing while they
climb’ attitudes,” said
U.S. Senator Bob Casey,
D-Pennsylvania.
Cheyney has faced
a myriad of fi nancial
creditation is tied to its
access to federal grant
programs, including Pell
grants.
The Philadelphia Tri-
bune reported that State
Rep. Stephen Kinsey
(D-Pa.) said that nearly
three-quarters of the stu-
dents are from low-in-
come households and
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHEYNEY UNIVERSITY
Cheyney University, One of the Nation’s Oldest HBCUs, Could Lose Its Accreditation in September
Cheyney University is in danger of losing its accreditation in September.
qualify for federal Pell
grants.
State Rep. Stephen
Kinsey (D-Pa.) said that
he felt obligated to save
Cheyney
University,
during a recent ral-
ly about the fate of the
school, according to the
Tribune.
Pennsylvania
State
Senator Vincent Hughes,
a Cheyney trustee, said
work continues to pre-
vent the loss of accredita-
tion. “We’ve been work-
ing with the governor
and others,” Hughes said.
“I wish I can guarantee
things, but I also can’t al-
low myself to think nega-
tively.”
Such notables to attend
Cheyney include, the late
“60 Minutes” journalist
Ed Bradley; charismatic
educator Marcus Foster;
former Chicago Bears
linemen James Williams;
Emmy-winning anchor-
man Jim Vance; and Phil-
adelphia Tribune Pub-
lisher Robert Bogle.
“Cheyney
Universi-
ty of Pennsylvania has
been an important con-
tributor to the educa-
tion of African- Amer-
icans since before the
Civil War, and the data
shows that we need ev-
ery HBCU in the country
to continue their legacy
of contributing to its ed-
ucation outcomes,” said
Dr. Michael L. Lomax,
the president and CEO of
the United Negro College
Fund. “HBCUs continue
to show their outsized
impact,
representing
three percent of all two
and four-year nonprofi t
colleges and universi-
ties, enrolling 10 per-
cent of African-Amer-
ican
undergraduates,
producing 18 percent of
all
African-American
bachelor’s degrees and
generating 25 percent of
all bachelor’s degrees in
STEM fi elds earned by
African-Americans an-
nually.”
Lomax added that fed-
eral and state govern-
ments, alumni, corpora-
Please re-use or recycle
this newspaper.
tions, philanthropists,
and others need to invest
more heavily in institu-
tions like Cheyney Uni-
versity.
“The governor has
been working closely
with the state system and
its board to create a path
forward for Cheyney,
that allows it to build off
its history, continue as
a degree-granting insti-
tution, and address its
fi nancial struggles,” said
J.J. Abbott, a spokesman
for Pennsylvania Gover-
nor Tom Wolf.
Pennsylvania Demo-
cratic State Rep. Jordan
Harris, a member of a
task force formed to ad-
vise Cheney’s adminis-
tration, said the universi-
ty has been underfunded
for years and without
permanent leadership.
“The task force’s job is
not to tell the university
what to do, but to make
recommendations,” Har-
ris said. “For the past two
years, the state system
has provided a line of
credit to Cheyney Uni-
versity to be sustained fi -
nancially. The State Sys-
tem of Higher Education
needs to forgive that debt
immediately.”