FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 30, 2009
CONTACTS:
Joye Griffin
703-205-3480
joye.griffin@uncf.org
STATEMENT OF DR. MICHAEL L. LOMAX ON HOUSE'S VOTE TO APPROPRIATE $283.1 MILLION FOR STRENGTHENING HBCUS SECTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION ACT
FAIRFAX, VA (July 30, 2009)- As the nation's largest minority education organization, UNCF is pleased that the House of Representatives has voted to appropriate $283.1 million for the Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities section of the Higher Education Act which is $33 million more than the President's budget request. We want to thank the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) for their leadership in helping to secure this increase. We look forward to working with the CBC and Congress as we continue to secure resources for our nation's historically black colleges and universities.
UNCF regards the House's action as a step in the right direction, and we appreciate the work of the House Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee, the full Committee, and all the members who made it possible.
The appropriation is a good investment in America's future, but there's much more work to be done. The President has made a commitment to regain world leadership in the percentage of the population with college degrees. HBCUs can and will make a huge contribution to meeting that ambitious objective. But we need more funding and support to accomplish this goal. We look forward to working with the Senate Appropriations Committee to find resources equal to the challenge the President has posed, and to working with both the Administration and Congress to maximize the national investment in HBCUs and, through them, in the next generation of teachers, scientists, engineers and leaders these colleges and universities will produce.
About UNCF
UNCF--the United Negro College Fund--is the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students' education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 39 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 18 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."® Learn more at www.UNCF.org.
