After President Joe Biden announced he was withdrawing from the presidential race, Dr. Tony Allen, President of Delaware State University and Chairman of the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Vice Chairwoman Dr. Glenda Glover sent Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris a letter thanking them for all they have done for the nation’s HBCUs.
“What he has done with respect to HBCUs has been monumental in my view,” said Allen. “Through the Board of Advisors on HBCUs he has given us some impetus for bringing recommendations to him that I knew he would be sensitive to and do something about. I thought it was important we simply said thank you both for what he had done already…and what I knew he was thinking about doing moving forward.”
Among the actions Allen and Glover detailed in their letter was the American Rescue Plan, which provided emergency grants for students, campus operations, staffing, and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic; infrastructure loan forgiveness for 45 public and private HBCUs; and expanded research opportunities for HBCUs.
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“He set the narrative, which is [that] HBCUs are the best return on investment in higher education, particularly as it related to folks who believe in access to higher education for all,” said Allen, who was a speechwriter for then-Senator Biden in the late 1990s. Biden introduced Allen to the late Delaware civil rights legend Jim Gilliam, who made a huge impact on Allen’s life.
“Only 3% of all four-year institutions in the country are HBCUs, but we are still producing a third of all Black STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) professionals…and about 40% of Black members of Congress. Recognizing that is important,” said Allen.
In 2021, Delaware State University acquired Wesley College, the first time an HBCU acquired another college or university in the U.S. “The idea that we could do more was important,” said Allen. “President Biden knew that HBCUs were doing more with less. The idea that less was no longer acceptable was really important. The things he talks about with respect to HBCUs—things like making sure more HBCUs become R1 (high level) research institutions.
“Today, there is not one of us that is an R1 institution. The fact that he knows what that will mean…is paramount.”
Biden started his first campaign on the grounds of Delaware State in 1971. Preparations are now underway for Harris’ presidential campaign. One could say the roots of that campaign began at Howard University, an HBCU institution, which she attended as an undergraduate. “It has been a watershed moment for us,” said Allen. The selection of Harris to be Vice President was historic, the first HBCU graduate to hold such an office in U.S. government. Several other HBCU graduates hold significant positions, including Michael S. Regan, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University. A Harris presidency will change the narrative of what’s possible.
“To me, it raises expectations in all the right ways,” said Allen. “I’m really excited about what that will portend for my students.”