APLU Hosts 2016 HBCU Summit

Washington, DC – As part of its ongoing effort to promote access, student success and degree completion, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) hosted and convened the 2016 HBCU Summit in Atlanta, Georgia on June 15 – 17. The theme for this year’s meeting was I3 Matters: (De) coding Student Success using Non-cognitive Factors in Institutional, Inter-relational, and Individual Affairs. APLU’s Office for Access & Success and the APLU Council of 1890 Universities led the planning of the meeting.

“Student success and degree completion efforts at HBCUs require informative, innovative, and inspirational approaches,” said RoSusan D. Bartee, APLU Interim Vice President for Access and Success. “We must ask ourselves, ‘what approaches remain untapped or unimaginable beyond test scores and GPAs?’ The more we know and come to understand different, yet relevant, ways to address student success and degree completion the more we expand our toolkit to address these complex issues.”

The 2016 HBCU Summit showcased conversations with current and former HBCU presidents, plenary discussions with education scholars and vested stakeholders, and individual concurrent session presentations that provided summit attendees with insight into degree completion efforts at HBCUs.

Featured keynote speakers for the 2016 Summit included Nick Nelson (Liquid Soul), Terrell Strayhorn (The Ohio State University), Charlie Nelms (former president of North Carolina Central University), Dorothy Cowser Yancy (former president of Shaw University, and Johnson C. Smith University), Ross Markle (Educational Testing Service) , Tania Davis (NASA), Frederick S. Humphries (former president of Tennessee State University and president emeritus of Florida A&M University), Glenda Baskin Glover (president of Tennessee State University), and Brian L. Johnson (president of Tuskegee University).

Highlights sessions from the 2016 HBCU Summit includes:

• The HBCU Net-Works Exchange
  Nick Nelson (Liquid Soul) examined the importance of institutional branding and how HBCU leaders can better connect with millennial students.
• The HBCU Town Hall
  Current undergraduate and graduate students discussed HBCU student life in an age of increasing economic, racial, and political uncertainly. Panel members shared their experiences attending an HBCU and how it prepared them for a challenging world.

• The HBCU EduTalk
  Terrell Strayhorn (The Ohio State University) examined the role of institutional belonging and the capacity at which universities support the matriculation of their students.

• The HBCU Presidents’ Talk
  Presidents offered their perspectives on the value of HBCUs and the role of HBCUs as educational change agents in society. Charlie Nelms (former president of North Carolina Central University), Dorothy Cowser Yancy (former president of Shaw University, and Johnson C. Smith University), Glenda Baskin Glover (president of Tennessee State University), and Brian L. Johnson (president of Tuskegee University) participated in the discussion.
• The HBCU Partner Dialogues (Sponsored Session)
  Ross Markle (ETS) explained the work of ETS in the measurement of noncognitive factors and how noncognitive factors continue to influence the educational experiences of underserved populations.
• The HBCU Master Class
  Frederick S. Humphries (former president of Tennessee State University and president emeritus of Florida A&M University) shared the greatest lessons he has learned during his tenure as a president.
• The Institutional Visibility Award
  Fort Valley State University received the inaugural Institutional Visibility Award for the 2016 HBCU Summit. The award acknowledges the HBCU with the most registered attendees at the Summit.

“We were pleased to have the plenary and concurrent sessions at the 2016 HBCU Summit to engage in dialogue about strengthening our concerted and individual capacities,” said Juliette B. Bell, president of University of Maryland Eastern Shore and chair of the Council of 1890 Universities. “With increased knowledge and understanding, we will continue to forge ahead in our efforts to enhance student recruitment, retention, graduation, and post-graduation success.”

Two professional development activities preceded the Summit and a first receipt of National Science Foundation (NSF) funding to support an APLU-OAS initiative.

• The HBCU Summer Engineering Faculty and Student Seminar, supported by the NSF, convened tenured associate professors of engineering at HBCUs to provide professional development experiences needed to support the progression toward the rank of professor. The seminar covered relevant topics pertaining to the faculty promotion process including dossier development and external research grant development.

  The HBCU Summer Engineering Faculty and Student Seminar also targeted undergraduate engineering majors, specifically rising juniors with a 3.0 or above GPA who were interested in pursuing academic careers in engineering. Student attendees engaged in dialogue sessions and participated in interactive activities designed to have students graduate school ready.

• The HBCU Administrator Professional Development Workshop, sponsored by EAB Royall & Company, focused on data-driven solutions in enrollment management that could be used for HBCU campuses. The workshop concluded the pre-summit development activities and allowed HBCU enrollment management officers to learn how they could strategically achieve their institutional recruitment goals through advanced technology and effective communication strategies.

The 2016 HBCU Summit was generously supported by 11 organizations. The platinum-level sponsors are: the Educational Testing Service (ETS); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and USA Funds. The gold-level sponsors are: EAB Royall & Company; IBM; and the Lumina Foundation. At the silver level, intellADAPT concludes the list of 2016 sponsors.

Companies and organizations were also invited to showcase their work as exhibitors. The exhibitors were: AmeriCorps; College Board; National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); and Peace Corps. The partners for this year’s summit included the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Southern Education Foundation.
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Interim Vice President RoSusan D. Bartee with HBCU engineering faculty during The HBCU Summer Engineering Faculty and Student Seminar. Tenured HBCU associate professors were provided with professional development experiences needed to progress toward the rank of professor during the one day seminar.