HBCU investment should not be ‘one and done,’ Delaware State University president says

Delaware State University President Dr. Tony Allen joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss investment in historically Black colleges, increasing educational access, and President Biden's pick for the Supreme Court.

Video Transcript

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BRAD SMITH: Welcome back to Yahoo Finance Live, everyone. The president's budget for fiscal year 2022 requested a total of $1.06 billion for HBCU specific funding in Higher Education Act, the HEA-- $239 million more than last year's level. Joining us now is Dr. Tony Allen, who is the president of Delaware State University and Chair of President Biden's board of advisors on HBCUs. Dr. Allen, thanks so much for joining us here, first and foremost. Perhaps, we can start with how the university would be able to access and activate these funds upon approval of the budget?

TONY ALLEN: Well, thank you for having me. It has been quite an experience with the Biden administration with respect to HBCU funding and support. They've already allocated historical levels of support. I think that comes down to how folks really believe that HBCUs are the single greatest driver to the middle class for so many African-American communities. And that's been [? missed ?] that way throughout our existence. Relative to the funding that we have received and the proposed funding in the budget, we expected to really build on some of the work that we have already started right through COVID. Some of that looks like ongoing support for more scholarship opportunities for our students, many of which are first generation college students and some of which are low resource students.

The other piece when you think about the infrastructure needs of our HBCUs, we already know that we provide an excellent quality education for all. But we want our living and learning spaces to match that quality as well and need a federal government support to do that. And then there is this piece of [INAUDIBLE] our comprehensive research effort you will find many, many HBCUs are doing cutting edge research across a range of disciplines, we want to make sure that we're getting our fair share of those research dollars as well.

BRAD SMITH: Absolutely. How have you seen the network of corporations and partners grow as they begin to modernize their workplace, diversity, equity, and inclusion, standards and targets.

TONY ALLEN: You know what, what I think was a moment in really the spring of 2020, particularly as it relates to the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so many others, I'm hoping we'll become a movement across many sectors, particularly the private sector. We have seen significant levels of investment there, but we don't want it to be one and done. And I'm sitting here today in a building donating to us by Capital One. It's a $4.7 million building that is 35,000 square feet, six floors right in the heart of the city of Wilmington. And it gives us an opportunity to bring our intellectual capital and our access for all students right to the heart of Delaware's only Metropolitan city.

That partnership between Delaware State University and Capital One really will build capacity and set the example for many other companies that it's not just about the donation, but the programming that happens inside that partnership. And we have a new unique one with Capital One. We've seen those partnerships come to bear, particularly over the last couple of years throughout the private sector. And we're hoping more to come.

BRAD SMITH: Certainly. I know that area well in downtown Wilmington, a lot of the big banks stationed there and have gotten some of those regional corporate offices even interned at one of them years and years ago. But when you think about how your skilling the workforce, the future of the workforce-- the hybrid workforce number one is clearly here to stay in some respects and job roles they are changing dramatically. So where have been the largest material changes to even the curriculum and prepping students for the future of work and the workplace?

TONY ALLEN: Well, you know, at Delaware State University and I said many other HBCUs across the country, there are two things that folks should know. We believe in return the highest return on investment in higher education. One of the things that makes that possible is making sure that we are on the cutting edge of providing the kind of pedagogy curriculum and instruction that is really preparing folks for the world that they will face.

I can tell you in our own circumstances again back to the Capital One partnership, one of the things we want to do is bring our corporate partners in earlier. So many of our corporate partners come to a Delaware State University and other [? HBCUs ?] and their junior and senior year looking for the cream of the crop, obviously. But we actually want them to start right at the beginning of a first year students college matriculation. Why? Because it gives them an opportunity to ask the tough questions, to actually interact with folks in many cases that look like them. To make some mistakes without penalty.

And all of that as they begin their professional journey before they're ever in an internship or in a job, and being able to really round out the full skill set that we think is going to make them attractive in the future.

BRAD SMITH: Certainly. Lastly, just while we have you here, Dr. Allen, I would love to get your reaction to President Biden's nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court with the historical significance, of course, being the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court if confirmed, representation that could inspire a new wave of multicultural law professionals. How are HBCUs preparing for the potential inflow and also climbing the law school rankings as well?

TONY ALLEN: Representation matters. And I can tell you that the presidential nominee Judge Brown Jackson is a fantastic choice in my view. Her parents we're HBCU graduates. So she is steeped in the HBCU tradition. She knows what that means. I'm sure that those parents entered the American middle class because of what happened to them at HBCUs. So I'll say that first.

Secondly, we all already know that 80% of all Black judges and about 50% of all Black lawyers started their college experience at HBCUs. So the notion that we are already a big part of the legal community relative to preparing the next generation of legal professionals is one that we have been carrying for some time now.

We expect that these symbols like we saw with President Obama, like we see with Vice President Kamala Harris. And I might even say, what we are seeing from the actions of President Biden will have their effects on the next generation of aspiring legal professionals, public servants and the like. At Delaware State, we say, [? and ?] to learn go forth to serve. And this is exactly an example of that.

BRAD SMITH: Dr. Tony Allen, Delaware State University president and chair of the president's board of advisors on HBCUs, such a great pleasure to have this conversation with you. I would love to keep the conversation going in the near future, too.