According to the Washington Post, Howard University could be in very serious financial trouble.

The newspaper obtained a copy of a letter drafted by the school’s academic deans. In it, they warn that fiscal mismanagement is putting Howard’s reputation and future in danger.

Howard President Sidney Ribeau rejects the allegations.

From the Washington Post:

Howard’s Council of Deans alleged that staff cuts at the university have been based on “inaccurate, misleading” data, lamented a decline in research expenditures and contended that a “burdensome” tuition increase has driven away students.

The allegationsfrom Howard’s academic deans provide a window into a debate seething within one of the nation’s premier historically black universities as it grapples with federal budget cuts and high hospital expenses. Revenue shortages this year, including a loss of tuition from an unexpected drop in enrollment, led the university to slash spending.

Debate over Howard’s situation burst into public view June 7 with the disclosure of a letter from Board of Trustees Vice Chairwoman Renee Higginbotham-Brooks, in which she said the school was “in genuine trouble.” Three days later, Board Chairman Addison Barry Rand responded in a statement that Howard “remains academically, financially and operationally strong.”

Read more at the Washington Post

 

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