Howard’s Calvin Hadley urges black men to enroll in HBCUs

The raw variety of black men attending HBCUs has dropped to its lowest level in almost 50 yearsand administrators at HBCUs are starting to notice this disturbing trend.

According to , black men currently make up only 26% of scholars enrolled at HBCUs, a major drop from the 38% they made up in 1976.

An evaluation by the American Institute for Boys and Men shows that the variety of black men attending HBCUs is: countless aspects influence.

According to their study: “The decline in the number of black male students is influenced by factors such as inadequate preparation for elementary and middle schools, a lack of black teachers, and financial barriers, both individual and institutional.”

Joanna Summers spoke with Calvin Hadley, associate vice chancellor for tutorial partnerships and student engagement at Howard University, concerning the university’s issues.

Hadley, a graduate of the university where he now works, told Summers that in his undergraduate years at Howard, he noticed a disparity in the variety of men and girls admitted.

“I’m a Howard graduate and I remember as a student that the numbers were pretty stark back then. I think when I was a student from 2004 to 2008 the number was around 33-34%. “Currently, as you announced in your introduction, Howard University is approximately 25% male,” Hadley said.

He continued: “And I think the latest statistics are that (Howard is) about 19% black men. It’s felt on campus, I think in our social clubs and in the backyard. “I think a lot of our students have found that in some classes they are the only men in the class.”

Hadley continued, expressing his concerns. “In every educational institution, we want diversity of experiences. So when there are not many men in the classroom, it significantly affects the diversity of experiences. It gets even scarier when we follow it further, doesn’t it? I think we’re seeing some really unique statistics right now. “Black males graduate at significantly lower rates than black females.”

Hadley also identified that this problem isn’t limited to HBCUs.

“And that’s why this decline over the last decade has been more drastic. But the reality is that this is not Howard’s problem. This is not an HBCU problem. This is not an IPR issue. This is the problem with American education.”

Hadley also identified that, compared to Black men applying to Howard, the variety of Black women who applied to the university far outpaced even the numerous increase in applications from Black men in the course of the 2022-2023 academic 12 months.

Hadley ended the interview with a direct appeal to Black men to come to Howard after stating that Black men are being left behind in American society and potentially negatively impacting their future families due to their lack of upper education.

“You attend an HBCU to get an education, not a degree, and as an associate chancellor, that is not a popular statement. The education you receive at an HBCU goes beyond the classroom experience. It goes beyond the relationship you have with your professor. Education exists between the lines of pages. HBCUs shower you with a sense of belief. We talked about the importance of having that belief at the forefront and the belief gap that exists in children from K to 12,” Hadley said.

He concluded his case this fashion: “HBCUs were created to instill in you the belief that you can be even greater than you can dream. Howard University and the HBCU community have made me – and many others like our vice president – ​​feel like I am enough. I can succeed academically. But my world is not only about academics. I can be enough and I can contribute to this society, in this space, in a way that allows me to feel whole and allows me to contribute to something much bigger than myself. The HBCU community needs you. And so, when I talk to this young man in 2024: Come, because we need you. Come because you are important. Come, because without you our community is hurt.”