President Barack Obama has appointed Saint Augustine’s College President Dianne Boardley Suber to the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Suber is the 10th President of Saint Augustine's College and the first female to assume the presidency.

Suber is part of a group of HBCU presidents now meeting with President Obama and representatives from the White House Initiative on HBCUs.  The visit is part of the 2010 National HBCU Conference being held in the nation’s capitol.  

The theme of this year’s conference is “Moving Toward HBCU Cathedrals.”  In recognition of the important role HBCUs play in producing qualified individuals who contribute to the success of this nation, President Obama designated September 12-18 as National HBCU Week.

Obama announced Suber's appointment at the conference's opening session.

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded $2.1 million to Saint Augustine's College to recruit students, improve technology and expand faculty development.

The Title III funds are intended to help historically black colleges and universities serve students better by strengthening academics, management and financial stability, according to a news release issued Friday by the university.

The money will be used to support and recruit students in a teacher education program; upgrade technology services; improve faculty development through participation in professional conferences; and provide first-year students with better support services including academic counseling and tutoring.
 

From the weekend: Coverage of N.C. Central University's two-day symposium last week that analyzed the future of the country's black colleges and universities.

Some interesting stuff, including Penn researcher Marybeth Gasman's challenge to HBCUs to step up private fundraising efforts.

Though being more aggressive is a big part of it, Gasman argued that these institutions have historically put far too little infrastructure in place. Invest more heavily, she urged them, in fundraising technology - databases and computer programs that help identify, sort and catalog wealthy alums. It may pay off.

Here's the story.

A two-day symposium on the future of historically black colleges and universities was highlighted today by a spirited presentation from Marybeth Gasman, a University of Pennsylvania professor who focuses her research on HBCUs.

In a wide-ranging report on the ways HBCUs can snag more resources, Gasman prodded the leaders of these institutions to beef up their private fundraising.

Doing so requires a culture shift, Gasman implored, noting that many alums of HBCUs in North Carolina and elsewhere are infrequently, if ever, approached about donating money.

Historically white institutions, in contrast, talk it up immediately.

"You have to instill a culture of philanthropic giving in your students when they are students," Gasman said. "Every student needs to know why they are there, how they got there, and who funded them."

Gasman, who has interviewed hundreds of alums of HBCUs over the years, dispels the notion that African-Americans don't want to give back. In fact, as a racial group, they give more than any other, she said. 

But they have to be approached first.

"If you don't ask, people don't give," she said.

Gasman's panel at the N.C. Central University-sponsored symposium examined funding. Other panels looked at community engagement, leadership, curriculum diversification and student issues.

 Its keynote address was authored Thursday by Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education. He challenged HBCU leaders to play a key role in improving the nation's percentage of college graduates. President Obama wants the USA to lead the world in the percentage of college graduates by 2020.

"That goal is our North Star," Duncan told the hundreds in attendance Thursday. "HBCUs must not just survive, but thrive. Education is meant to be the great equalizer. It shouldn't matter your race or zip code. Equal education is the civil rights fight of our era."

For more on the HBCU symposium, read Saturday's News & Observer.

Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education, will give the keynote address later this week at a symposium on historically black colleges and universities.

The symposium is hosted by N.C. Central University as part of the institution's centennial celebration. It is intended as an intellectual exercise, an opportunity for the university to inject some academic rigor into a year-long series of celebratory events.

The symposium, titled "Setting the Agenda for Historically Black Colleges and Universities," runs Thursday and Friday at the Sheraton Imperial. Duncan speaks at around 9 a.m. Thursday.

The symposium will feature a handful of the heavy hitters of higher education academia, several of whom will present position papers for public consumption and debate.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan urged the leaders of the nations's historically black colleges and universities this week to do a better job getting students to the academic finish line.

"I want to conclude by suggesting that HBCUs, despite their modest resources, may be better positioned than some institutions of higher ed to develop a stronger culture of accountability in the years ahead. During their 130-year history, HBCUs have often accomplished what seemed impossible, educating generations of ill-prepared students on shoestring budgets," he said in part.

Duncan spoke Wednesday at the 2009 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference.

He said in part that HBCUs will play a crucial role in the future of higher education, but they must get better. He acknowledged the need for more funding for black colleges, but also said increased state funding is not likely given the current economy.

Here's a transcript of his speech.

Historically black colleges and universities are, like the rest of higher education, taking a beating right now. Some are laying off workers. Others are struggling to even pay their utility bills.

But those that persevere could end up thriving in this ragged economy, argues Kim Clark in this article in U.S. News & World Report. The reasons: Affordability and accessibility.

Advocates for the nation's historically black colleges and universities pushed this week for a favorable chunk of economic stimulus money.

As Inside higher Ed reports, HBCU leaders are asking President Barack Obama to give their institutions top priority for money to trickle down to higher education.