DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Ohio is home to two Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs), both located within the Miami Valley.
The two area HBCUs, Wilberforce University is in Wilberforce and Central State University, are both located in Wilberforce.
The difference of funding when comparing the financial aspects of how much funds the schools receive from community colleges to ivy league in comparison to HBCUs.
President of Wilberforce University, Dr. Elfred Anthony Pinkard, sat down with 2 NEWS to discuss the issue of the differences.
Wilberforce University
In January 1863, Wilberforce closed in response to scarce resources and the war effort in the South. The school reopened after Daniel Payne acclaimed the mortgage to the school.
Pinkard explained that Payne was named president of the university, making him the first African American male in the history of the United States to become president of a higher-education learning facility, following the reopening of the school.
Today at Wilberforce, the school is tuition-driven like most educational institutes.
“The significant amount of our income comes from the students that we enroll. We also get government funding for first-generation students,” Pinkard said.
“Over 90 percent of our students are first-generation students. There are governmental funds that support those students. The remaining funds come to us as a result of fundraising, donors who are from foundations, corporations and high net-worth individuals, who were interested in supporting the school.”
The Wilberforce president discussed that studies have shown that attending HBCUs make an impact on the students life.
Students are also trained to interrogate the range of social and cultural issues that impact communities and also they’re trained to develop strategies to help their communities. There is a rich fund of research that suggests that HBCUs have an impact on the students who attend them in a very kind of specific sort of way
President of Wilberforce, Dr. Elfred Pinkard
President Pinkard says students attending the university can see themselves in the notable alumni of Wilberforce.
Many influential people have went through the school, including the first black mayor of Dayton, James H. McGee, Dorothy Vaughan of NASA, American Soprano Leontyne Price and more.
The Biden Administration awarded over $8 million to Wilberforce as a part of the American Rescue Plan.
Colleges and Universities in Ohio
- Sinclair Community College – $7 million reductions in budget for fiscal year 2021
- Wright State University – $243 million in projected expenses for fiscal year 2023
- Ohio University – $682.5 million budget for fiscal year 2023
- Ohio State University – $8.2B in spending for fiscal year 2023
Harvard University
According to The Crimson, the official newspaper of Harvard University, the ivy league school ended the 2022 fiscal year with a budget off $406 million. The amount is the most for the school in the last two decades.
Central State received over $25 million in funding from the White House. 2 NEWS reached out to Central State to schedule an interview, but have not heard back.
