DOCUMENT RESUME ED 342 297 HE 025 268 TITLE Oversight Hearing on the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965: New Orleans, Louisiana. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education of the Committee on Education and Labor. House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, First Session (New Orleans, LA, July 27, 1991). Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House INSTITUTION Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education. REPORT NO ISBN-0-16-037262-3 PUB DATE 92 NOTE 252p.; Serial No. 102-79. Portions contain small/light print. AVAILABLE FROM U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402. PUB TYPE Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Access to Education; Black Colleges; Black Education; College Students; Educational Finance; Federal Aid; *Federal Legislation; Federal Programs; Hearings; Higher Education; Institutional Environment; Institutional Survival; *Minority Groups; Student Financial Aid IDENTIFIERS Congress 102nd; *Higher Education Act Title III; Louis iana ABSTRACT In one of a series of hearings held in communities around the nation on the reauthorization of the Eigher Education Act of 1965, the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education met to hear testimony from higher education professionals, students, and othe:s in the state of Louisiana on Title III of the Act concerning minority access to higher education and support for historically black colleges. The opening witness was John Childers, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs, who described Title III and other titles of the bill relating to educational access for black students. Other witnesses were the following: David Bell, student and President of the Southern University student government association; Charles Brown, student and president of the Xavier University Student Government Association; McArthur Clarke of Dillard University; Samuel Duboil. Cook of Dillard University; Edward B. Fort, of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education and chancellor of North Carolina A&T State UnivErsity; Marcellus Grace of the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools; Lloyd Hackley of Fayetteville State University; William Moore of Southern University; Joe Page of Grambling State University; Earl Roberson of Carver State Technical College; Myer L. Titus of United Negro College Fund; and Barbara Tucker-Blair of Tuskegee University. The witnesses' prepared statements are included. (JB) OVESIGHT HEARING ON THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA HEARING Ctt BEFORE THE CZ SUBCOMMITTEE ON POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SECOND CONGRESS FIRST SESSION HEARING HELD IN NEW ORLEANS, LA, JULY 27, 1991 Serial No. 102-79 Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor U.S. MPARTIAINT OF EDUCATION Oftwo of Educational Roossien ond Improvirmint EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) ATMs docurnnt has beOn tEstotiumt ss wowed Pont Ml poison of otganitshon originating it C Minot Champs hays boon mad* to im avo tootoduction gustily this docu- Points ot vio*OtOlaniona atstiO in mint Po not niciasanly fepfesint official policy OE RI position ot U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 46-420 24 WASHINGTON : 1992 For %ale by the U.S. Govemnwnt Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congrosional Sale% Office. Wa%hington, IX' 20402 ISBN 0-16-037262-3 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR WILLIAM D. FORD, Michigan, Chairman WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania JOSEPH M. GA1DOS, Pennsylvania E. THOMAS COLEMAN, Missouri WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY, Missouri THOMAS E. PETRI, Wisconsin GEORGE MILLER, California MARGE ROUKEMA, New Jersey AUSTIN J. MURPHY, Pennsylvania STEVE GUNDERSON, Wisconain DALE E. KILDEE, Michigan RICHARD K. ARMEY, Texas PAT WILLIAMS, Montana HARRIS W. FAWFIL, Illinois MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California PAUL B. HENRY, Michigan MAJOR R. OWENS, New York CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina CIURLES A. HAYES, Illinois SUSAN MOLINARI, New York CARL C. PERKINS, Kentucky BILL BARRETT, Nebraska THOMAS C. SAWYER, Ohio JOHN A. BOEHNER, Ohio DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey soorr L KLUG, Wisconsin NITA M. LOWEY, New York MICKEY EDWARDS, Oklahoma JOLENE UNSOELD, Washington CRAIG A. WASHINGTON, Texas JOSE E. SERRANO, New York PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii ROBERT A. ANDREWS, New Jersey WILLIAM J. JEFFERSON, Louisiana JOHN F. REED, Rhode bland TIM ROEMER, Indiana JOHN W. OLVER, Massachusetts RON DE LUGO, Virgin Islands JAIME B. FUSTER, Puerto Rico PATRICIA F. RUM" Staff Director ANDRIN J. HARTMAN, Minority Staff Director SUBCONIUMM ON POEMIDCONDAIty EDUCATION WILLIAM D. FORD, Michigan, Chairman E. THOMAS COLEMAN, Missouri PAT WILLIAMS, Montana SUSAN MOUNARI, New York CHARLIMI A. HAYES, Illinois SCOTT L KLUG, Wisconsin JOSEPH M. GAYDOS, Pennsylvania WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania GEORGE MILLER, California THOMAS E. PETRI, Wisconsin NITA M. LOWEY, New York MARGE ROUKEMA, New Jersey THOMAS C. SAWYER, Ohio STEVE GUNDERSON, Wisconsin DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey PAUL B. HENRY, Michigan JOLENE UNSOELD, Washington RICHARD K. ARMEY, Texas CRAIG A. WASHINGTON, Texas BILL BARRETT, Nebraska JOSE E. SERRANO, New York PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii ROBERT A. ANDREWS, New Jersey WILLIAM J. JEFFERSON, Louisiana JOHN F. REED, Rhode Island TIM ROEMER, Indiana DALE KILDEE, Michigan CONTENTS Page Hearing held in New Orleans, LA, July 27, 1991 1 Statement of: Bell, David, President, Student Government Association, Southern Uni- 180 veruity at New Orleans, New Orleans, LA les, Presiden ,t Student Government Association, Xavier Uni- Brown, 178 versity, New Orleana, LA Childers, John, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Pro- 6 grams 190 Clarke, McArthur, Dillard Univennty, New Orleans, Louisiana 27 Cook, Samuel Dubois, President, Dillard University, New Orleans, LA Fort, Edward B., Representative, National Association for Equal Opportu- nity in Higher Education, Chancellor, North Carolina A&T State Uni- 41 versity, Greensboro, NC Grace, Marollus, Past President, Association of Minority Health Profes- sions Schools, Dean, College of Pharmacy, Xavier University, New Or- 160 leans, LA Hackley, Lloyd V., Chancellor, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, 73 NC Moore, William, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Southern Universi- 66 ty, Baton Rouge, LA Pea Joe, Financial Aid Officer, Grambling State University, Grambling, 126 96 Roberson, Earl, Jr., President, Carver State Technical College, Mobile, AL Titim Myer L., Representative, United Negro College Fund, President, 153 Mlander Smith College, Little Rock, AR Tucker-Blair, Barbara, Director of Financial Aid Services, Tuskegee Uni- 116 versity Tuskegee, AL J 87 Turner, ohn B., President, Knoxville College, Knoxville, TN Prepared statements, letters, supplemental materials, et cetera: Bell, David, President, Student Government Association, Southern Uni- versity at New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, prepared statement of 183 212 Central State University, Wilberforce, OH, prepared statement of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, prepared statement 229 of Childers, John, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Pro- grams, prepared statement of 9 Cook, Samuel Dubois, President, Dillard University, New Orleans, LA, 29 prepared statement of 200 Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools, prepared statement of Fort, Edward B., Representative, National Association for Equal Opportu- nity in Higher Education, Chancellor, North Carolina A&T State Uni- 45 versity, Greensboro, NC, prepared statement of Grace, Marllus, Past President, Association a Minority Health Profes- sions Schools, Dean, College of Pharmacy, Xavier University, New Or- 163 leans, LA, prepared statement of Hackley, Lloyd V., Chancellor, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, 76 NC, prepared statement of Hytche, William P., Preeident, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 243 prepared statement of Moore, William, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Southern Universi- 68 ty, Baton Rouge, LA, premred statement of Page, Joe, Financial Aid Officer, Grarnbling State University, Grambling, LA, prepared statement of 128 IV Prepared statements, letters, supplemental materials, et ceteraContinued Prestage, Dr. Jewel L., Interim Dean, Benjamin Boinneker Honors Col- lege, Prarie View A&M University, prepared statement of 196 Roberson, Earl, Jr., President, Carver State Technical College, Mobile, AL, prepared statement of 98 Southern University at New Orleans, prepared statement of 220 Sudarkasa, Dr. Niara, President, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, prepared statement of 237 Titus, Myer L., Representative, United Negro College Fund, Preeident, Pldlander Smith CAHOON Little Rock, AR, prepared statement of 156 Tucker-Blair, Barbara, Director of Financial Aid Services, Tuskegee Uni- versity, Tuskegee, AL, prepared statement of 120 Turner, John B., President, Knoxville College, Knoxville, TN, prepared statement of 90 Williams, Josulyn, Vice President, Stevenson's Academy of Hair Design, Inc., prepared statement of 233 OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE REAUTHORIZA- TION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1991 Housz OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, New Orleans, LA. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in the Dillard University, Dent Hall, New Orleans, Louisiana, Hon. Wil- liam J. Jefferson presiding. Members present. Representatives Jefferson, Hayes, Payne, Washington, Mink, and Kildee. Staff present: Tom Wolanin, staff director and Diane Stark, legis- lative associate. Chairman JEFFERSON. Good morning. I am pleased to call to order this hearing of the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Educa- tion on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. We have here today with us several outstanding Members of the United States Congress. We do not have, as you can see, two addi- tional Members who will join us at some point this morning. And while we are reluctant to stsrt without them, in order to maintain the timeliness of the conduct of this hearing, we are going to begin without them. I want to say how pleased we are to have those witnesses who are present with us today. Because truly we have assembled a very good panel. I have been to hearings in other parts of the country, and this one, I would submit is better attended by Members of Con- gress than most. I think we ought to be very pleased for the turn- out that we have here today in the midst of all of the business that is going on in Washinigton. I will just make a brief introduction, and I ask these gentlemen, since each of them is senior to me, and it is with their mdulgence that I am chairing this meeting today because, as you know, in Washington seniority means everything. But I want them to speak first, and I will make my statement when they conclude. First, I want to recognize Congressman Kildee, who is from the State of Michigan, who Chairs the Elementary, Secondary and Vo- cational Education Committee. The title is so long, he has to put it on both sides of his business card. But he, of course, has been with the committee for a good long time. He will begin this morning. Then Congressman Hayes, who sits to my right, from Chicago, the great State of Illinois, who has served on the Education and (1) 2 Labor Committee, and who also serves as a subcommittee Chair- man on the Post Office and Civil Service Committee. And Don Payne from New Jersey, who got there just ahead of me. But, as I said, seniority means everything. He is from Newark, and he serves on Education and Labor with me, as well as on the Foreign Affairs Committee. So, I will ask Congressman Kildee to begin. Mr. Klima Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It is good to be here in New Orleans. I used to travel with our former chair- man, and a hearing similar to this was down at Morehouse College a few years ago. I met some of you down there, and I look forward to the hearing again today. I have always been convinced that the role of the historically black college is a very, very important role in the total spectrum of higher education in this country. For that reason, I always Eupport- ed this part of the bill, and will continue to support it. But we need the input from you because education is dynamic. All education is dynamic, and things change. You mentioned I was chairman of the Elementary, Secondary and Vocational Education Subcommittee. I'd like to share a quick story with you. All of you, as educators, know that we can learn from our students. I learned from one of my students, Glenn Girdie, about 30 years ago, when I had been talking for days, weeks and months about civil rights. I taught Latin. It was pretty hard to work it into a Latin class. But, I was talking about the time of Emmit Tills' death. I was talking about the struggle of the Roman plebeian, comparing that with the American blacks. One day, Glen Girdie came up to me. He was very blunt. He said, "Mr. Kildee, put your money where your mouth is. Here is a mem- bership for the NAACP." So I learned from my students there. I think we can always learn &or- our students. I see Mr. Proctor here, who was my fellow in Flint, Michigan, and I am glad to have you here. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman JEFFERSON. Thank you, Mr. Kildee. Congressman Hayes. Mr. HAYES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To you and our other two colleagues, Mr. Kildee and my good friend, Donald Payne, from New Jersey. I would not have If Mr. Kildee had not had mentioned it, thought about it. Your mind tends to travel backwards, you know. You come into a city that you have not been into in quite a few years. I remember my first visit to New Orleans. I used to be, as you know, a leader of labor. We had a strike on a levy somewhere on the Mississippi River, sugar workers. Several of them had been put in jail. I came down here to tu to extricate them. This is what I remember about what happened here. I have been here several times since. I always do enjoy coming to New Orleans. I think the purpose for which we are here today is one of the most important missions of our committee. I want to thank you for inviting me to join you in what is the last field hearing of the Postsecondary Education Sub- committee series on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. 8 I have certainly learned to value field hearings, because these hearings were held in my district, and was of immense help in my preparation and knowlWge. It is important to hear from those that are directly impacted by the committee's actions. So I welcome our witnesses here today, and our host, Congressman Jefferson, and yes, the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Kildee. You have been great additions to the committee, and I appreciate your convening this hearing today. I understand that today we will focus our attention on various titles of the Higher Education Act, including those addressing mi- nority access issues and historically black colleges. It is a well known fact that HBCUs have been a consistent beacon of success in promoting educational justice and opportunity. These colleges continue to serve as the great social equalizers in an educational syrstem that has not at all times been responsive to the needs of African Americans or other minorities. Again, I hope that we are able to touch upon issues such as mi- nority teacher recruitment and retention, graduate education, in- cluding the obvious need for more minority Ph.D.s, international programs, and of course, student financial aid. I, along with my col- leagues, are here to learn. In closing, thank you, again, Mr. Jefferson for your kind hospi- tality. I look forward to working with you for many more years on the committee, and I am pleased to be here with you at this histori- cal university, Dillard University, to address very important issues concerning higher education. Thank you very much. Chairman JEFFERSON. Thank you, Mr. Hayes. Mr. Payne. Mr. PAYNE. Thank you veniiiluch, Mr. Jeffer3on. I, too, would like to commend you for this field hearing here in your home city of New Orleans, to cdscuss the reauthorization of the Hipher Education Act, and particularly Title HI, Part B, strength- emng black colleges and universities. I also have to say that I have attended field hearings before. But this is, indeed, the one that, to my knowledge, has been best at- tended. I guess that you are just the real magnet to bring all of us here to this city. If you were not here, we would not be here in New Orleans. But seriously speaking, it is just a fine place to come. It is a great opportunity to be at one of the tine institutions that I have heard about for many years. In the past, Historically Black Colleges and Universities have made significant contributions to the Nation and the world. Today, they are continuing these significant contributions by providing postsecondary and graduate education for primarily black, many low income, but Americans who are looking for an opportunity to work themselves out of their situations. Even though Historically, Black Colleges and Universities have produced generations of scholars, doctors, lawyers, and engineers, if they are to survive in this harsh economic climate, they are going to have to expand and develop their competitive edge in higher education academia. Investments in building superlative infrastructures in historical- ly black higher education institutions are essential for development 4 of quality programs in science and technology, and in providing greater access and ability to attract contracts and grants from both the private and the public sector. It is apparent that we need to encourage more women and mi- norities to go into the sciences, engineering, apd more technical fields. This IS the time to concentrate on utilizing and improving the unique resources that the Historically Black Colleges and Uni- versities have to offer. According to the Department of Labor, by the year 2000, 80 per- cent of the people entering the workforce will be women, minori- ties and immigrants. In order to provide even better opportunities for these stu enth, institutions must develop new initiatives in graduate programs, post-doctoral programs, and innovations in new technologies. This will require new legislative and policy initiatives, and addi- tional sources of funding to support these initiatives. I will support these institutions, and I will continue to support the expansion of funding for historically black colleges. Once again, I commend you for this hearing, and I look forward to hearing testimony from your witnesses. Chairman JEFFERSON. I would like to thank each of the members for their opening statements, and for their participation in this meeting. We will have CAmgressman Washington, who is from the State of Texas, and Congresswoman Mink, who is from Hawaii, who, as I said before, I hope will be joining us fairly soon. I want to thank Dr. Cook and Dillard University for prmitting us to hold this hearing here, and fi..2 hosting it for us. They have done, as you can see, an outstanding job in outfitting the room, pre- paring the place for us, and in alerting the community to the meet- ing. We really do appreciate what Dillard has done. And Dr. Tema also, of course, started out working very hard on this and has done an outstanding job. I do not know where he is right now, but I really appreciate his work. There he is in the back. I see one of our local university president's is here, who I hope we will see some more of, Dr. Greg O'Brien, of the University of New Orleans, who has come to join us this morning. We really ap- preciate that. Some of the speakers this morning have already mentioned the historic place that Dillard University holds. I want to add to that by saying that we meet here today at a school that is regard as a stellar institution in higher learning in this State, and in the South, and, indeed, throughout the Nation. It is a historically black university. Born out of the incongruous union between freedom and the vestiges of slavery, endowed and supported by a concerned Methodist in the aftermath of the tragic war between American brothers and sisters in the South and the North, it has become more than a shelter from the debilitating storm of legalized oppression and injustice. It has offered hope and opportunity to those who thought there would be none, of a more productive future through education and self-help. This vaunted status epitomizes the role of Historically Black Col- leges and Universities, HBCUs, in this country. With meager re- sources, but great dedication to an enthusiasm for teaching, and an unusual capacity to inspire learning, these institutions have gone ;I ,,60Y 5 about their business of educating often the most disadvantaged in our Nation, while hampered by perceptions of inferiority and defi- ciency. Indeed, the historical record provides incontrovertible proof that without these institutions, the Nation would be far less en- riched through the talents of African Americans. Blacks have achieved dramatically at historically black colleges, and have gone on to contribute immeasurably to the arts, the sci- ences, the humanities, and the legal, medical, and dental profes- sions. Names such as Thurgood Marshall, Barbara Jordan, Leon- tyne Price, Andrew Young, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., just to mention a few among thousands of the most distinguished alumni of rIBCUs. The present day role of these institutions is still challenged by some, in spite of the fact that these now multiracial, multicultural institutions still remain the higher educational choice of nearly one-third of all African American students entering 4 year colleges today. Thus, they collectively hold the greatest concentratio- of Af- rican American students in our Nation today, and a national focus upon supporting and enhancing their success with these students holds the greatest potential for mcreasing the number of black bac- calaureate degreed Americans. Congress, through its most recent enactments of the Higher Edu- cation Act, has already recognized that our Nation, in order to be its most competitive and productive in the future, must provide more opportunity for college education to more African American students. And Congress has alreaciy recopized the fundamental wisdom of strengthening the capacity of 1113CUs to help to meet this important national goal, and to realize this important rational interest. The time has now come to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The question before us today then and the subject of these hear- inp, is how may Congress and our Nation in this reauthorized Higher Education Act better address the obstacles facing African American college students and the needs of HBCUs. To address the current needs facing our African American stu- dents, and to better meet the needs of the Nation's HBCUs, I, along with several other of my colleagues on the Education and Labor Committee, have introduced the College Opportunity Act of 1991. I will not try to detail what that act provides. There will be others today who will talk about it. And I hope that we will have some discussion on it as we go through the day. In fact, I hope we will have a great deal of discussion on the bill. But, I do want to invite those who have come to pay some attention to it and to give it some focus as we go through our discussions. I look forward to the comments of the outstanding panelists who we have assembled today, and who will make presentations to us and to this committee. I look forward to their comments on this legislative direction we are trying to take with the HBCUs, and the addressing of the furthering opportunity for African American stu- dents through the reenactment of the Higher Education Act. I look forward to this hearing today with great anticipation for the results that it will bring to enhance our chances of learning more, as Qmgressman Hayes has said, about how you, the consum- ers of what the Congress has done, have responded to the act. 1 ( 1