March 4, 2017

 

RE: A Message from the President

 

Prairie View A&M University family,

 

Having attended the second day of the White House meetings with HBCU Presidents, I wanted to share my impressions with you.

I was unable to attend the first day of the meeting when the HBCU Presidents were scheduled to meet with President Trump.  Instead, I was in Austin for the Congressional Black Caucus Summit meeting with Texas legislators. I thought it more prudent for me to be in Austin on Sunday and early Monday discussing the proposed budget cuts that may affect PVAMU and other institutions of higher education across the state. On Monday evening, I flew to Washington, DC to join my fellow HBCU Presidents and White House representatives.

In my opinion, the Tuesday meeting provided my colleagues and me an opportunity to voice the challenges and the achievements shared by HBCUs. We were able to discuss how cuts in funding for Parent Plus loans and Pell Grants have negatively impacted affordability for underserved students. Also, we were able to discuss how HBCUs are more relevant than ever in the higher education landscape because HBCUs produce the vast majority of STEM professionals and prepare a significant number of students for other high demand fields. Record enrollment at many HBCUs this past year -including PVAMU- prove that HBCUs are thriving in spite of the obstacles. In short, my colleagues and I were able to collectively advocate for our institutions and propose a realistic agenda for moving HBCUs forward in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

I truly believe that meeting with key members of the Trump administration, Congressional members and Republicans in leadership positions so early into this new administration was extremely important. It is certainly too early to tell whether we had the impact on White House representatives for which we had hoped. However, being given the opportunity to share one’s opinions in and open and honest forum is a positive start to any relationship.

There is no question that I remain optimistic about the future of HBCUs across the country, in this state, and most definitely, Prairie View A&M University.