Tag Archives: morehouse college

2013’s Top 20 HBCU Rankings By Total R&D Expenditures

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HBCUs appear to have taken a step back in the research field according to the latest National Science Foundation data. In 2012, research expenditures for the top 20 HBCUs combined for $455.1 million, while 2013 combines for $450.7 million. This represents a one percent drop year over year. The top 20 HWCU research institutions saw an almost twenty three percent increase over the same period.

  • The top ranked HBCU is Florida A&M University at 197 and the twentieth ranked Virginia State University is listed at 327 in America’s college research landscape.
  • MEAC leads the way with six schools versus the SWAC with four.
  • Division II/III schools also comprise four schools on the list.
  • Overall, the 1890 HBCUs are fifty percent of the list highlighting agriculture’s importance role in HBCU research.
  1. Florida A&M University – $51,149,000
  2. Howard University – $42,789,000
  3. Morehouse School of Medicine – $36,638,000
  4. Jackson State University – $36,264,000
  5. North Carolina A&T State University – $33,994,000
  6. Alabama A&M University – $32,937,000
  7. Meharry Medical College – $22,532,000
  8. Tuskegee University – $21,150,000
  9. University of Virgin Islands – $20,041,000
  10. Charles Drew University – $18,547,000
  11. Delaware State University – $17,295,000
  12. Fisk University – $16,423,000
  13. Tennessee State University – $16,177,000
  14. Morgan State University – $15,475,000
  15. Prairie View A&M University – $13,198,000
  16. South Carolina State University – $13,159,000
  17. Hampton University – $12,461,000
  18. Alcorn State University – $11,315,000
  19. Morehouse College – $9,581,000
  20. Virginia State University – $9,535,000

TOP 20 COMBINED TOTAL: $450.7 million ($455.1 million)

Additional Notes

The HWCU-HBCU gap for research among top 20 research institutions is 50:1

Top 20 HWCUs Combined: $22.5 billion ($18.3 billion)

Top 20 Average HWCU – $1.1 billion ($910 million) vs. Top 20 Average HBCU – $22.5 million ($23 million)

Top 20 Median HWCUs – $969.8 million vs. Top 20 Median HBCU – $17.9 million

Source: National Science Foundation

The HBCU Endowment Feature – Morehouse College

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School Name: Morehouse College

Median Cost of Attendance: $37,416

Undergraduate Population: 2,441

Endowment Needed: $1.8 BILLION

Analysis: Morehouse College needs approximately $1.8 billion in order for all of its students to attend debt free. One of the most nationally known Historically Black College & University and the only all-male HBCU, one word comes to mind when it comes to its endowment – baffling. This is primarily because while Morehouse College did not appear on HBCU Money’s 2011 top ten endowments, it was only because they did not report their information in time to NACUBO. For all intents and purposes there is no reason to believe that Morehouse College does not have one of the six $100 million plus endowments amongst HBCUs. Unfortunately, if it does have a $100 million endowment it does not appear it is anywhere near its sister school Spelman’s endowment in value which is potentially three times the size of Morehouse’s endowment. This despite having the backing and donations of Ms. Oprah Winfrey. From all reports she is the school’s largest individual donor – or was. There are reports that Ms. Winfrey’s support is waning due to lack of alumni commitment.

Morehouse College should have a multi-billion endowment. Should. It is one of the few HBCUs with a large base of alumni with a sound concentration in the six-figure income range. Morehouse’s new leadership must tackle this inept giving attitude from alumni to become more engaged givers. The school’s downgrade on its financials by Moody will not only have an effect on Morehouse but will reverberate down the stream for other HBCUs. Despite all of this mire the school has the ingredients to not only right the ship but be a legitimate contender for the first HBCU to a $1 billion endowment. It has the alumni, earning power, and prestige but it must fix the disconnect between its alumni and their endowment. If Morehouse was a financial institution it would fall under the “Too Big To Fail” category and while the college is in no danger of closing its doors, it is itself a bellwether institution and must find a way stop resting on its laurels and become the hungriest of the hungry if it is to take its place among the endowment vanguard of HBCUs once again.

As always it should be noted that endowments provide a myriad of subsidies to the university for everything from scholarship, faculty & administration salaries, research, and much more.