Unprecedented Federal Support Predicted for HBCUs: At the conclusion of the 2009 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week Conference, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a gathering of Black college leaders Wednesday that he predicts HBCUs will receive “unprecedented” levels of financial support under the Obama administration.
While providing few spending specifics, Duncan pointed to the expansion of the Pell Grant program, which will boost grant awards for HBCU students as well as increase the number of grant recipients attending HBCUs.
“Going forward, we project that HBCU students and their institutions will receive an additional $80 million in Pell Grants and 13,000 more students will become Pell Grant recipients, bringing the number of Pell Grant recipients at HBCUs to almost 200,000 students,” he said.
