Press Release - President Donald J. Trump Prioritizes Historically Black College and Universities

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP CONTINUES TO PRIORITIZE HBCUs: With the announcement today, President Donald J. Trump demonstrates his commitment to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

• Today, President Trump announced Johnny Taylor, Jr., the former seven-year President of the Thurgood Marshall College fund, as the Chairman of the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
  • On February 28, 2017, the President signed an Executive Order announcing the President's Board of Advisors on HBCUs.
  • Chairman Taylor will work closely with Johnathan Holifield, who was appointed as executive director of the President's White House Initiative on HBCUs last year.

ADVANCING HCBUs: President Trump has prioritized HBCUs since the beginning of his Administration.

• President Trump's February 28, 2017 Executive Order was the earliest any President had signed an Order on HBCUs.
  • In addition to creating the White House Initiative on HBCUs and the President's Board of Advisors on HBCUs, the Executive Order created an Interagency Working Group to advance and coordinate the work regarding HBCUs.
  • The President ordered government agencies that regularly interact with HBCUs to develop annual plans to "strengthen the capacity" of those schools. There are 31 agencies that will submit such plans.
  • The Order will help improve HBCUs' participation in Federal programs and foster more and better opportunities in higher education.
  • President Trump's proposed budgets for 2018 and 2019 have maintained funding for HBCUs.
  • The Department of Education worked with HBCUs to protect $80 million in Title III carryover funding.
  • President Trump has called for an additional $20 million in funding for the Strengthening HBCUs program above the amount set in the recent budget deal.
  • The President's budget has called for an increase of $400 million for the TRIO program and an increase of $300 million for Federal Work Study.