Vital and Valuable: The Relevance of HBCUs to American Life and Education(Black Lives in the Diaspora: Past / Present / Future)

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are a crucial element of higher education in the United States. As of 2021, there were more than 100 HBCUs, with a total enrollment of approximately 300,000 students. Many of the most famed figures in African American history attended HBCUs, and the alumni of these institutions have a strong track record of upward mobility and professional attainment. However, the value and contributions of HBCUs are too often overlooked and underappreciated.

In Vital and Valuable, two distinguished economists provide a groundbreaking analysis of HBCUs. James V. Koch and Omari H. Swinton give a balanced assessment of the performance of HBCUs, examining metrics such as admissions and enrollment trends, graduation and retention rates, administrative expenses, spending on intercollegiate athletics, and student debt. They emphasize the distinctive features that make HBCUs what they are, considering whom they serve and how, while contextualizing these institutions within the landscape of American higher education.

Based on this analysis, Koch and Swinton offer actionable policy recommendations that can help HBCUs build on their successes and address their weaknesses. They stress that empirical data on educational outcomes is essential to effective leadership of individual institutions as well as policy decisions that affect HBCUs. Vital and Valuable is essential reading for policy makers and experts in the field of higher education as well as a broader public interested in understanding the contributions of HBCUs.

Table of Contents:
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Removing the Veil
2. A Précis of the Case for HBCUs
3. Declining HBCU Enrollments—a Mystery or Not?
4. The Sample and the Data
5. Enrollment, Retention, and Graduation
6. A Deeper Dive into HBCU Dynamics
7. A Roadmap for the Future
Appendix A. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Sample
Appendix B. Observations on Panel Least Squares, Random Effects, and Fixed Effects
Appendix C. Data tables
Notes
Index

About the Author :
James V. Koch is Board of Visitors Professor of Economics Emeritus and president emeritus at Old Dominion University. His recent books include Runaway College Costs: How College Governing Boards Fail to Protect Their Students (2020) and The Impoverishment of the American College Student (2019).

Omari H. Swinton is chair, director of graduate studies, and professor in the Department of Economics at Howard University. He is a past president of the National Economics Association.

Review :
Koch and Swinton present a powerful argument that HBCUs are 'vital and valuable.' Meticulously researched with detailed empiricism, the authors back up the claims that many make anecdotally. Comparing HBCUs to elite universities, state-supported universities, and other types of colleges and universities, Koch and Swinton make a convincing case that HBCUs are a critical part of the higher education landscape. If there were no HBCUs, some say, we would have to invent them, even in a so-called post-racial world. Swinton and Koch examine the history of HBCUs, including the racist history of governmental bias against HBCUs. They offer policy suggestions to strengthen HBCUs' sometimes fragile financial position, with recommendations for government, corporations, businesses, and philanthropy. Importantly, though Koch and Swinton are clear HBCU boosters, they do not avoid some uncomfortable aspects of the HBCU reality. Their candor, and the empiricism surrounding their assertions, strengthen their case. This clear-eyed and factual look at HBCUs is a must-read for anyone who cares about education, equity, and our nation's future. I learned from and enjoyed this book. I wish that some of the legislators who vote on HBCU appropriations would read Vital and Valuable so that it might inform their votes on appropriations. This book is both timely and insightful, a persuasive introduction of these unique educational gems to the broader community. This is the definitive study of historically Black colleges and universities in the United States. Combining social analysis, financial and enrollment data, and statistical analysis, Vital and Valuable provides the most comprehensive picture of the condition and contributions of HBCUs to date. Products of legal segregation in American higher education, underfinanced and underrecognized, HBCUs have 'made a way out of no way.' Vital and Valuable affords an in-depth, evidence-based treatment of their record of accomplishment in the vise of American racism. Vital and Valuable addresses the existence and survival of HBCUs with respect to institutional positioning, enrollment, funding, competition, politics, and student success. It clearly distinguishes itself by its empirical grounding, a rare approach in the HBCU book project space, to provide key insights. This book is in a class all its own. What is the value of HBCUs in America in the twenty-first century? Koch and Swinton’s answer is unequivocal: they are a key part of the higher education landscape and important to Black America specifically, and to the country more broadly. This is an important book about an important topic that needs much more scholarship and attention. This is a model for the study of higher education in general, not just a particular set of institutions.