Will HBCUs Become An Endangered Species?

Click HERE to listen to a commentary by Glen Ford

The issue of merging or closing HBCUs is definitely not an issue exclusive to the state of Georgia. What are your thoughts?

Shaw Student Silent Protest 12/4/08

The quality is somewhat poor - but we're sure you'll get the point!

Thompson Hospitality Extends Philanthropic Gift to University

Raleigh, NC – (December 12, 2008) The gift that keeps on giving has landed at Shaw University. Donan Chicot, District Manager and Corporate Safety Director for Thompson Hospitality, presented Dr. Clarence G. Newsome, President of Shaw University with a check for $10K.

In his presentation he stated to Dr. Newsome, “Thompson Hospitality is the University’s partner and we are a part of the Shaw Family. We care about providing the best offerings to the University’s faculty, staff and students.”

Dr. Newsome reciprocated by reassuring him that Thompson’s presence on the campus is a welcome partnership and stated, “We value our partnership with Thompson Hospitality and we appreciate the generous support that you continuously provide to the University.”

Chicot discussed their plans to launch new offerings beginning with the Spring semester in January. “We will introduce the World Theme that offers special dishes from around the world coupled with a regular menu. There will also be a commercial microwave installed in the cafeteria for student use.”

Dr. Newsome applauded the adjustments that Thompson will make beginning January 2009. In parting Chicot stated, “You are only as good as your last meal.”

Shaw University Offices Closed During the Break

While some students will be celebrating the end of the fall semester and the beginning of their holiday vacation, other students like sophomore Christopher Williams said he will be working hard withdrawing from Shaw University.

However, according to university officials, it might be difficult accessing some services for Williams and other students as all but very essential university offices will be closed during the holiday.

Shaw President Dr. Clarence Newsome stated in a release that, "From 5:00pm Friday, December 19, 2008 until 8:00 am Monday, January 5, 2009 the university will be closed for external services."

According to some students the announcement worried them.

"What if my new school has questions or needs documents while I'm gone? Who am I suppose to call", said Williams.

Vice President for Fiscal Affairs, Thomas Poitier said Fiscal Affairs will close on December 19 as well and will not reopen until January 5.

"Although I will not be available in the office over the break, students can feel free to email me at tpoitier@shawu.edu. I will be checking periodically to provide students with any information I can."

Although some students said this kind of information should have been communicated to them ahead of time, other students like senior, Jonah Davis said faculty and staff deserve to take a break as well. "Don't get me wrong the administration should be flexible in some situations" said Davis.

"Students have had an enormous amount of time to handle what ever business they needed to handle up until this point. We do work with our students but we are as restless as they are," said Office of Student Affairs Planning and Effectiveness Director Juanda Holley.

However, Poitier suggested that all faculty and staff should at least be available via email in the event that there are emergency concerns that if possible may be handled.

Some students said they want staff and faculty to have what some say is a well deserved break, but many said they still will have needs over the next few weeks.

"As long as all of my documents are ok for me to transfer I'm good to go," said Williams.

Headaches May Await Unregistered Students

With the fall semester over, some students said they are relieved and ready to go home for the holidays, but apparently with only 57 percent of students registered for classes in the spring, some faculty are asking if students will be prepared for next semester when they return?

According to Shaw's Director of Institutional Research, Brian Cumberbatch, 1,483 students out of 2,615 students who began classes in the fall are registered for spring classes.

Shaw Records Maintenance Clerk Derrick Gill said students do not realize the jeopardy they place themselves in by not registering in advance, especially those who have outstanding issues with the university. "You can't do anything unless you are cleared. You must be cleared," said Gill.

"My classes tend to fill up quickly," said sophomore Tanisha McGaughey, "so I registered already, plus my advisor stayed on me about registering early."

Junior Dominique Willis said that he registered early for convenience. He said he didn't want to get into a class that conflicted with other priorities, so he found classes early that were convenient for him.

Senior Jessica Davis, a student athlete, said she was encouraged by her coaches to register early. Davis said being able to participate in athletics goes hand in hand with academics.

"I play for the prestigious Shaw University Lady Bears and in order to play, you have to have classes so I've already registered," said Davis.

Why have some students still not registered?

Some students like senior Bree Ellis said the reason they have yet to register is because they have not been advised. Others like sophomore Rakilli Washington said they have delayed registering because they are transferring next semester.

University officials said students who have yet to register for classes may be in jeopardy of not being able to get into courses they need to graduate.

Also without a minimum of 12 credit hours, students may not live in the dormitories, according to university officials.

The registration period began Oct. 16. Registration ends on Jan. 26.

-Sharece Crawford

Gates Grants Aim to Help Low-Income Students Finish College

With concerns growing that the recession will make it even harder for low-income students to remain in college, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Monday announced nearly $70 million in grants as part of an ambitious initiative: to double the number of low-income students who earn a college degree or vocational credential by age 26.

The foundation hopes to encourage other nonprofits, religious organizations and the federal government to join its mission to help low-income students get the education required for steady employment in higher paying jobs, said Hilary Pennington, who will direct the Gates Foundation’s postsecondary effort.

The statistics behind the initiative are stark. While growing numbers of students in this country enroll in college, most of them never graduate. With large numbers working full time to pay for college and a lack of institutional support for struggling students, only about 25 percent of low-income students earn any kind of postsecondary degree, experts say. The rate for black and Latino students is about 20 percent.

“We console ourselves that we’re going to be fine in the world because we have this great higher education system and all our kids are going to college,” Ms. Pennington said. “But they’re not finishing. That is enormously debilitating for young people.”

And the lack of a higher education degree or credential is particularly debilitating in a recession, said Anthony Carnevale, the director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University.

“The people who survive the best have always been and continue to be the ones with postsecondary education,” Dr. Carnevale said, adding that the unemployment rate for people without a college education was generally four times as high as for those with a two- or four-year degree.

Most of the foundation’s money would go not directly to students but to programs intended to help them make it through college.

The Gates Foundation said that doubling the numbers of low-income students who earned a postsecondary degree or vocational degree by age 26 would translate into an increase of about 250,000 graduates each year.

The goal is attainable, said Dr. Carnevale, whose research shows that each year there are 560,000 students who graduate in the top half of their high school class — and have the test scores that show they could succeed in college — but who fail to earn a two- or four-year degree within eight years of graduating.

The vast majority of these students are from families earning less than $85,000 a year.

Included in the Gates Foundation’s initiative are $33.2 million in grants for improving postsecondary education, so lower income students can quickly learn the skills they need to succeed at college.

A second set of grants is intended to strengthen institutional support for low-income students, including a $13 million award to MDRC, a nonprofit education research organization, to expand its performance-based scholarships for low-income college students. These scholarships will be delivered through three colleges in Ohio, two in New York City, one in New Mexico and statewide in California.

The Gates Foundation’s announcement came a week after a report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education concluded that the spiraling cost of college — even before the recession — threatened to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, with the greatest burden falling on low income families.

The share of income required to pay for college, even with financial aid, has been growing especially fast for lower-income families, the report found.

“The timing could not be better,” said Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow with the Century Foundation, in Washington, who is an expert on income inequality and education, referring to the Gates Foundation’s announcement.

“With college endowments declining and states cutting higher education budgets,” Mr. Kahlenberg said, “low-income college students will be more squeezed than ever, and attrition rates are likely to increase. The Gates Foundation can’t address the financial burdens by itself, but its focus on what types of programs work best may help spur action by the federal government.”

The Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropy, has in the last eight years become a leader in secondary education reform, spending close to $2 billion to improve high schools, from New York City to Boston to Los Angeles, and raise their graduation rates and students’ college preparedness.

While the foundation has spent an additional $2 billion on minority college scholarships, the new grants represent its first major push in the area of postsecondary reform.

The foundation will continue its work with high schools, said Vicki Phillips, who directs that effort, though with a greater emphasis on strengthening teaching and the curriculum.

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