Note: The following text is a quote:
Home Briefing Room Presidential Actions Executive Orders
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
February 26, 2010
Promoting Excellence, Innovation, and Sustainability at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to advance the development of the Nation’s full human potential and to advance equal opportunity in higher education, strengthen the capacity of historically black colleges and universities to provide the highest quality education, increase opportunities for these institutions to participate in and benefit from Federal programs, and ensure that our Nation has the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by the year 2020, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have made historic and ongoing contributions to the general welfare and prosperity of our country. Established by visionary leaders, America’s HBCUs, for over 150 years, have produced many of the Nation’s leaders in business, government, academia, and the military and have provided generations of American men and women with hope and educational opportunity. The Nation’s 105 HBCUs are located in 20 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and serve more than 300,000 undergraduate and graduate students. These institutions continue to be important engines of economic growth and community service, and they are proven ladders of intergenerational advancement for men and women of all ethnic, racial, and economic backgrounds, especially African Americans. These institutions also produce a high number of baccalaureate recipients who go on to assume leadership and service roles in their communities and who successfully complete graduate and professional degree programs.
Sec. 2. White House Initiative on HBCUs.
(a) Establishment. There is established the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Initiative), to be housed in the Department of Education (Department).
(b) Mission and Functions. The Initiative shall work with executive departments, agencies, and offices, the private sector, educational associations, philanthropic organizations, and other partners to increase the capacity of HBCUs to provide the highest-quality education to a greater number of students, and to take advantage of these institutions’ capabilities in serving the Nation’s needs through five core tasks:
(i) strengthening the capacity of HBCUs to participate in Federal programs;
(ii) fostering enduring private-sector initiatives and public-private partnerships while promoting specific areas and centers of academic research and programmatic excellence throughout all HBCUs;
(iii) improving the availability, dissemination, and quality of information concerning HBCUs to inform public policy and practice;
(iv) sharing administrative and programmatic practices within the HBCU community for the benefit of all; and
(v) exploring new ways of improving the relationship between the Federal Government and HBCUs.
(c) Administration. There shall be an Executive Director of the Initiative. The Department shall provide the staff, resources, and assistance for the Initiative, and shall assist the Initiative in fulfilling its mission and responsibilities under this order.
(d) Federal Agency Plans. (1) Each executive department and agency designated by the Secretary of Education (Secretary) shall prepare an annual plan (agency plan) of its efforts to strengthen the capacity of HBCUs through increased participation in appropriate Federal programs and initiatives. Where appropriate, each agency plan shall address, among other things, the agency’s proposed efforts to:
(i) establish how the department or agency intends to increase the capacity of HBCUs to compete effectively for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements and to encourage HBCUs to participate in Federal programs;
(ii) identify Federal programs and initiatives in which HBCUs may be either underserved or underused as national resources, and improve HBCUs’ participation therein; and
(iii) encourage public-sector, private-sector, and community involvement in improving the overall capacity of HBCUs.
(2) Each department and agency, in its agency plan, shall provide appropriate measurable objectives and, after the first year, shall annually assess that department’s or agency’s performance on the goals set in the previous year’s agency plan.
(3) The Secretary shall establish a date by which agency plans shall be submitted to the Secretary. The Secretary and the Executive Director shall review the agency plans in consultation with the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs, established in section 3 of this order, and shall submit to the President an annual plan to strengthen the overall capacity of HBCUs.
(4) To help fulfill the objectives of these plans, the head of each department and agency identified by the Secretary shall provide, as appropriate, technical assistance and information to the Executive Director for purposes of communicating with HBCUs concerning program activities of the department or agency and the preparation of applications or proposals for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements.
(5) To help fulfill the goals of this order, each executive department and agency identified by the Secretary shall appoint a senior official to report directly to the department or agency head with respect to that department’s or agency’s activities under this order, and to serve as liaison to the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs and to the Initiative.
(e) Interagency Working Group. There is established the Interagency Working Group, which shall be convened by the Executive Director and that shall consist of representatives from agencies designated by the Secretary, to help advance and coordinate the work of Federal agencies pursuant to this order, where appropriate.
Sec. 3. President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs.
(a) Establishment. There is established in the Department the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (the Board). The Board shall consist of not more than 25 members appointed by the President. The President shall designate one member of the Board to serve as Chair, who shall coordinate with the Executive Director to convene meetings and help direct the work of the Board. The Board shall include representatives of a variety of sectors, including philanthropy, education, business, finance, entrepreneurship, innovation, and private foundations, as well as sitting HBCU presidents.
(b) Mission and Functions. Through the Initiative, the Board shall advise the President and the Secretary on all matters pertaining to strengthening the educational capacity of HBCUs. In particular, the Board shall advise the President and the Secretary in the following areas:
(i) improving the identity, visibility, and distinctive capabilities and overall competitiveness of HBCUs;
(ii) engaging the philanthropic, business, government, military, homeland-security, and education communities in a national dialogue regarding new HBCU programs and initiatives;
(iii) improving the ability of HBCUs to remain fiscally secure institutions that can assist the Nation in reaching its goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020;
(iv) elevating the public awareness of HBCUs; and
(v) encouraging public-private investments in HBCUs.
(c) Administration. The Executive Director of the Initiative shall also serve as the Executive Director of the Board. The Department shall provide funding and administrative support for the Board to the extent permitted by law and within existing appropriations. Members of the Board shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law. Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), may apply to the Board, any functions of the President under that Act, except for those of reporting to the Congress, shall be performed by the Secretary, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Administrator of General Services.
(d) Report. As part of the annual report of the Initiative, the Board shall report to the President and the Secretary on their progress in carrying out its duties under this section.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) For the purposes of this order, “historically black colleges and universities” shall mean those institutions listed in 34 C.F.R. 602.8.
(b) This order shall apply to executive departments and agencies designated by the Secretary. Those departments and agencies shall provide timely reports and such information as is required to effectively carry out the objectives of this order.
(c) The heads of executive departments and agencies shall assist and provide information through the White House Initiative to the Board, consistent with applicable law, as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Board. Each executive department and agency shall bear its own expenses of participating in the Initiative.
(d) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(e) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(f) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person
(g) Executive Order 13256 of February 12, 2002, is hereby revoked.
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 26, 2010.
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Home Briefing Room Speeches & Remarks
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release February 26, 2010
Remarks by the President on Signing Executive Order on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
East Room
4:54 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. Please have a seat. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Well, it is wonderful to be here. And thank you for the outstanding introduction by Mr. Smart. And I was complimenting him on his bowtie — (laughter) — as well as the excellent scholarship that hes showing. I want to thank all the student leaders from HBCUs and some of the fantastic men and women that I’ve named to serve on my HBCU advisory board. So thank you, all of you, for what you are contributing to this important cause.
I have a few members of Congress that are in the audience that I want to acknowledge. At least I think theyre here. I havent spotted everybody. First of all, one of our outstanding leaders in the House of Representatives, and the whip in the House of Representatives, James Clyburn — James Clyburn is right here. (Applause.) One of the deans of the Congress and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, John Conyers is in the house. (Applause.) A great friend from the great state of Maryland, Elijah Cummings. (Applause.) The chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Barbara Lee. (Applause.) A champion on behalf of D.C. statehood — or at least voting rights — Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton. (Applause.) Congressman Bobby Scott from the great state of Virginia. (Applause.) And one of our foremost exports — experts on foreign policy, Congressman Donald Payne from New Jersey. (Applause.)
I also want to acknowledge Dr. Earl Richardson, who is finishing tenure as President of Morgan State University. Please, sir. (Applause.) And a great friend, President of Hampton University for more than 30 years, Dr. William Harvey. (Applause.) I promised him I’d come back to Hampton, so I’m going to be speaking at his commencement this year. (Applause.)
And then the Trojan Explosion Drum Line from Virginia State University. (Applause.) I’m told this is the first time theres been a drum line in the White House. (Laughter.) This is what I’ve been told. (Laughter.)
Before the Civil War and the creation of what we now call the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, an education - much less a higher education - just wasnt possible for most African Americans. Where it was happening, reading and writing were often taught in secret. But as the Civil War ended and the 13th and 14th and 15th amendments were signed, a freed people demanded a freed mind. And the war on illiteracy and ignorance began.
There were some, like Booker T. Washington, a freed slave who walked 500 miles from the mines of West Virginia to study at Hampton, who argued that these colleges should focus on teaching blacks skilled trades and vocations. There were others, like W.E.B. DuBois, who studied at Fisk and became the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard, who advocated for education in the arts and the sciences to cultivate the leaders and teachers of the next generation.
Today, at America’s 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, our young men and women prepare to do both. They’re the campuses where a people were educated; where a middle class was built; where a dream took hold. They’re places where generations of African Americans have gained a sense of their heritage, their history, and their place in the American story.
But like all colleges and universities, HBCUs face tough challenges today. Endowments and state budgets are shrinking, too many facilities are deteriorating, enrollment is falling - and the cost of education keeps going up. And these schools feel the pain more acutely - they do more with less, and they enroll higher proportions of low- and middle-income students. And that’s why the Recovery Act that was passed last year invested in their infrastructure and technology and nearly doubled the Pell Grant award. And that’s why the budget I’ve proposed this year increases HBCU funding by nearly $100 million at the Department of Education alone.
But helping HBCUs chart a new path in this new century will require much more on all of our parts. And that’s why today I’m signing an executive order strengthening the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (Applause.)
This initiative originated in President Carters administration; it expanded under President Reagan; and its been renewed by each President since, to help these schools give their students every chance to live up to their full potential. And Ive asked Dr. John S. Wilson, a Morehouse man, to lead it under my administration, and Dr. Harvey to serve as chairman of its advisory board.
And I want to be clear: Strengthening Americas Historically Black Colleges and Universities isnt a task that falls to these men or to the Department of Education alone - I expect agencies across the federal government to help support this mission.
Were not doing this because these schools — well, we’re not only doing this because these schools are a gateway to a better future for African Americans; were doing it because their success is vital to a better future for all Americans. We know that Americans with college degrees far out-earn those without. We know that our businesses too often cant find qualified candidates for open positions. We know that other countries are out-educating their kids to out-compete ours. And yet, year after year, a stubborn gap persists between how well African Americans are doing compared to their white classmates. Year after year, American students trail their foreign peers in too many areas. And year after year, those students who do make it to college often find themselves unprepared for its rigors.
Thats why education reform has been a top priority of my administration. We launched a national competition to improve our schools by investing only in reform that closes the achievement gap, and inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future from too many young Americans. Were working with states and governors to develop and implement standards that better position all our students to graduate high school prepared for college and careers.
Ive urged the Senate to pass a bill that will make college more affordable by ending unnecessary taxpayer subsidies that go to financial intermediaries for student loans, revitalize our community colleges that serve as career pathways for the children of so many working families, and invest more than $2 billion in Minority Serving Institutions, including HBCUs. All of this will help achieve our goal of ensuring that America once again has the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020 - and keeping our HBCUs strong is vital to achieving that goal.
Still, there are some who question the continued relevance of HBCUS; who say that theyve fulfilled their purpose; who say that after all the progress that weve made, their reason for being is now somehow obsolete. But it was because of these schools that a young prankster discovered the sense of purpose that led him ultimately to sit on the Supreme Court. It was because of these schools that a young broadcaster with a funny name - Oprah - (laughter) — could make that name into an empire. It was because of HBCUs that a young preacher grew into a king that shared his dream with all of America.
It was because of these schools that America’s middle class was filled with black doctors and educators and judges and lawyers and engineers and entrepreneurs. And today, it’s because of these schools that one out of every two wide-eyed freshmen who who arrives on their campuses with big backpacks and bigger dreams is the first in his or her family to go to college.
And that’s why we’re here today - to ensure that these schools remain the beacons that they’ve been for more than a century and a half: Crucibles of learning where students discover their full potential and forge the character required to realize it; catalysts of change where young people put their hands on the arc of history and move this nation closer to the ideals of its founding; and the cradles of opportunity where each generation inherits the American Dream - and keeps it alive for the next.
That’s what HBCUs are about, and that’s why I’m proud to now sign this executive order. (Applause.)
(The executive order is signed.)
There we go. (Applause.)
END
5:03 P.M. EST