The Best HBCUs in STEM

The National Academies recently published another blue ribbon report that raises alarms about America's imminent decline as a major economic (and political) power due to our declining production of doctorates in science and technology relative to that of other nations. (See Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology at the Crossroads.)

What If HBCUs Never Existed? -- An Alternative Response

This question has recently been asked and answered in an historical context. With all due respect for the good intentions of the author of that widely read essay, in my opinion neither the question nor an historical response addresses the existential challenge: Why are HBCUs still needed?

Crossing the Finish Line at HBCUs

A. Overall Review 

I write this note to call my readers' attention to one of the most important books about higher education that I have encountered in the last twenty years. I am referring to a recent publication called Crossing the Finish Line by William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S. McPherson (Princeton University Press, 2009).