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WASHINGTON — The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education has sent a letter to the Education Department protesting the appointment of another interim director for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities rather than a permanent leader. The previous director, John Wilson, left in January to become president of Morehouse College. Historically black colleges have already felt under fire from the Obama administration since the Education Department tightened underwriting standards for parent PLUS loans, leading to a wave of loan denials that HBCU leaders say have fallen disproportionately on their institutions.
"The decision to have the White House Initiative on HBCUs without leadership for almost a year is confounding, especially given the administration's higher education goals and the vitally important role HBCUs must play in reaching the goals," the group wrote. "The appointment of yet another interim executive director does not bode well for the HBCU community, whose challenges are many, immediate, and likely to have lasting adverse impacts."
"We recognize the prominent role of our nation's historically black colleges and universities to provide students with a high-quality higher education and help our nation reach the 2020 goal for the U.S. to have the best educated, most competitive workforce in the world," Education Department spokesman Daren Briscoe said in a statement to Inside Higher Ed. "During this transition, we are continuing conversations to ensure the White House Initiative on HBCUs has the best leadership in place to harness the opportunities and navigate the challenges that face HBCUs today, and we are moving as quickly as possible to find a permanent executive director."
