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This paper aims to discuss the methods that were used to do egalitarian research with ten Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Rather than doing research “on” these institutions, the authors worked with them to understand their successes and build upon their capacity in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) areas. Through this process, the authors aimed to bring exposure and interest to the practices that HBCUs use to increase and nurture success in African American students – practices that are rarely used in mainstream STEM programs and, in fact, run counter to well-established practices across STEM. The goal is to challenge traditional methods for pursuing STEM education research as the authors offer alternative methods the uplift and empower HBCUs.

The authors used the constant comparative method in developing, testing, and writing-up the HBCU success stories. The constant comparative method collects data in a systematic way by engaging in ongoing exploration and verification of findings with key stakeholders (in this case, the teachers, students and staff at the HBCUs). Across the ten HBCUs in the sample, at least one success story or model at each institution was identified; in some instances, there were more.

The research project had several implications for the social and economic health of society. First, supporting the work of HBCUs contributes to the diversification of the STEM fields and addresses the severe drought in the STEM workforce. It is without doubt that a diverse workforce – the unique perspectives and backgrounds of each individual – has a positive and significant influence on progress and innovation in any field. Despite increasingly growing minority communities across the country, many Blacks continue to face roadblocks that impede their opportunities and abilities in the K-20 pipeline and STEM education, specifically. Because HBCUs have a long history and record of tearing down those roadblocks and contributing Black students to the STEM workforce, they are prime and optimal sites for long-term investment. Second, improving the abilities of HBCUs to support student success in STEM also increases the likelihood of greater STEM minority teachers and faculty. A significant factor in the success of minority students in STEM is the opportunity to be taught and mentored by faculty members that look like them and/or deeply understand their personal background and struggles. For many Black students, the presence of a Black science professor can improve and retain student interest and aspiration in STEM. But with so few Black STEM faculty members, many students can easily fall through the cracks. Third, aside from the nation’s security and health, supporting HBCUs’ work in STEM student achievement represents immeasurable benefits for the individual and his/her family for many generations to come (i.e. society overall). Occupations in STEM are plentiful and fruitful for those who achieve the required credentials. Increasing opportunities for Black students to pursue these STEM careers can establish a path toward upward social mobility. The realization of these benefits is contingent upon the investment in early achievement in STEM courses.

Several research based outcomes are scheduled to result from this project, including a major policy report on HBCUs and their approaches to STEM education (co-constructed with the HBCU representatives); several peer reviewed articles (authored by us as well as the HBCU representatives); a national convening (showcasing both the best practices and the results of the HBCUs’ funded capacity building projects with the HBCU representatives as the primary speakers rather than us); a website featuring the work of the 10 HBCUs, active use of social media to disseminate the findings of the project; several op-eds written for a general audience and co-authored with HBCU representatives; and an authored book published by a university press.

Best practices gleaned from this project are being shared in a scholarly manner, but they will be shared in ways that are accessible to practitioners, including presidents, faculty, academic advisors, student success staff and other HBCU practitioners. In addition, best practices will be shared with majority colleges and universities to strengthen and improve practices more broadly in STEM. The authors are working with organizations such as the Association of American Universities, Association of Public Land Grant Universities and the American Association of Colleges and Universities to showcase the work of HBCUs and disseminate information.

Conducting research projects in which the research inquiry is co-constructed and the resulting research products are also co-constructed and even co-authored is an empowering and collaborative way to work across institutional types. More importantly, this approach brings attention to those researchers and teachers at HBCUs that are doing the day-to-day work with students, training them to be scientists, doctors and professors. Too often, only those conducting studies on STEM are credited with “discovering” success models for student learning. The authors think that those who have created these models and use them should be recognized and included in the research and dissemination process, and the authors encourage others to think more broadly and openly about collaborative research that engages the voices of HBCU researchers and students.

This project also has much to teach others about collaborating through research. First, collaborating when conducting research related to STEM is essential, as it encourages collaboration within STEM and among STEM researchers. HBCU researchers that were a part of our project – biologists, physicist and chemists – were encouraged to work across disciplinary lines and together to understand their own STEM education practices more fully.

The purpose of this paper is to examine The Chronicle of Higher Education, a leading site for higher education news and politics, and its representation of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Frames are strong discursive tools that can help social actors achieve the following: define and solve problems, shape public opinion, increase the productivity of interpersonal negotiations and “serve as a foundation of public discourse, such as negotiation, on a mass-communication level”. As such, this research is guided by both higher education literature of HBCUs and media framing theories and methods in an attempt to identify potential problems and opportunities for improvement of the presentation of HBCUs nationally in the USA.

This study reveals that when the frames are viewed in concert-funding challenges at HBCUs, status differential between predominantly white institutions vs HBCUs, questionable leadership practices at HBCUs and achievement success, what one sees is an unflattering picture depicted in the Chronicle of Higher Education of HBCUs, as second-hand universities that are poorly managed, outdated and are a drain on the economy. Any one of these themes, alone, is not problematic, but when taken as a whole, their entirety represents a troubling picture – one that is inaccurate because HBCUs have and continue to serve an important role in society: educating African Americans.

This paper concludes with pragmatic implications of the negative findings about HBCUs as well as discusses tactics proponents HBCUs should use to combat the negative depictions.

The purpose of this article is to examine the salient literature on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with an overarching goal of setting a future research agenda for scholars interested in these institutions.

This literature review is organized into two main sections: strengths and challenges. To move HBCUs forward, scholars need an understanding of these institutions’ strengths as well as those challenges that lie ahead.

The major strengths include the value-added nature of the education provided by HBCUs (i.e. the willingness of HBCUs to educate “at-risk” students); affordability in terms of tuition; community engagement; leadership training of future generations; Afrocentric curricula and a competitive yet supportive learning environment, which is particularly beneficial in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields; a focus on teaching; and faculty and student diversity. The first half of this paper will focus on these strengths. These same national experts identified the challenges as low retention and graduation rates; lack of financial resources (especially for student scholarships and attracting faculty), and competition from historically White institutions (HWIs); the need for sustainable administrative leadership; lack of marketing of HBCU success stories; the pressures of desegregation and holding true to mission; the challenge of producing future scholars who care about the needs of HBCUs; small endowment size; and the persistent gender gaps in student enrollment. The second half of this paper will focus on these challenges.

In addition, by identifying the strengths and challenges, researchers can assist practitioners at HBCUs as well as those in the policy and funding arenas in better understanding the needs of HBCUs.

The research on HBCUs has grown substantially over the past 30 years. However, this body of research still has substantial gaps and holes. If filled, many of these gaps and holes would lead to stronger institutions, greater knowledge on the impact of HBCUs and enhanced learning experiences for HBCU students. Many young scholars are interested in studying HBCUs but are often discouraged: when they approach their advisor with the topic, they are told it is not important and that their career will be limited by the topical choice. There is a lack of support within sections of the HBCU community for research that might uncover weaknesses or not treat HBCUs in an entirely favorable light. We encourage those interested in pursuing research related to HBCUs to find mentors who will support them in their pursuits.

Although some of these topics and subsequent suggestions involve taking on controversial issues, it is important for individuals affiliated with and who care about HBCUs to conduct this research before uninformed outsiders do it (Gasman, 2006). There needs to be a concerted effort from HBCUs, HBCU faculty, HBCU scholar – practitioners and HBCU allies – the “insiders” and the “outsiders” – to ensure those closest to HBCUs have the opportunity to share their own voice, rather than simply have others speak for them. HBCU leaders and organizations that ignore negative data and institutional challenges do so at their own peril.

This article addresses the critical need for exceptional leaders to shepherd the nationʼs Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in a post-Brown era where African American students enjoy unlimited access to higher education in the United States. The article spotlights the many contributions Black colleges and universities have made to American society against insuperable odds since their inception in the mid-nineteenth century. It studies selected examples of HBCUs whose graduates have distinguished themselves in areas where other institutions enjoy centers of excellence. The article traces the historical inequities between major and minority institutions, the challenges HBCUs face in surmounting these disparities, and the growing tendency of Black students to exercise their options by enrolling at White colleges and universities. With the loss of a pure monopoly on African American students, Black colleges now must find leaders of exceptional talent and vision in order to ensure their survival. The article recommends strategies designed to surmount hurdles and enhance the viability of Black colleges and universities in an increasingly competitive environment.

Given that a relatively large percentage of college students entering historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are first-generation students and considering the low completion rate among this group in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) discipline, the purpose of this preliminary meta-synthesis study is intended to facilitate a greater understanding of the academic and social adjustment among college students, particularly first-generation college students enrolled in STEM disciplines at HBCUs. Therefore, this meta-synthesis will shed light and offer important recommendations for university administrators and faculty members in supporting the academic and social adjustment of these students in STEM fields at HBCUs.

This review of literature was conducted using a meta-synthesis approach (also referred to as integrative review). A meta-synthesis is based on a process by which findings across multiple studies are organized and presented (Turner, Gonzalez and Wood, 2008; Wood, 2010). This approach is used to provide insight to academicians and practitioners alike on the status of research on a given phenomenon (Bland, Meurer and Maldonado, 1995; Patterson, Thorne, Canam and Jillings, 2001; Wood, 2010). We engaged in a cyclical process of collecting, annotating, and synthesizing research over a 45-year time-frame (1970 to 2015). This produced over 50 cited resources with more than 100 scholars including peer-reviewed articles, reports, books, book chapters, and conference papers.

Factors present in the literature that affected students enrolled in a STEM program at a HBCU are grouped into three contexts: (a) first-generation academic and social characteristics, (b) first-generation college dropout and transition, and (c) first-generation STEM retention. Tables 2 to 4 provide these contexts by author and year of publication. Within these general groupings, four interrelated themes emerged from the literature: (a) prior academic performance and STEM discipline, (b) college adjustment and STEM discipline, (c) social integration and STEM discipline, and (d) academic integration and STEM discipline.

This information may help professors and university professionals in the STEM fields to be more aware of the challenges faced by incoming college students. More empirical work is needed in this area in a way that is useful for understanding and enhancing professors’ and university professionals’ knowledge. To this end, research that carefully describes what HBCU professors and university professionals know or their ideas about teaching college students, especially first-generation students enrolled in the STEM discipline, is needed.

While previous research has examined the effectiveness of peer mentoring from the mentee's perspective, more research is needed to uncover how and why the interplay of the peer-mentoring relationship in a virtual format, especially for racial and ethnic minority (REM) women in historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) seeking a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degree, impacts STEM success. This study seeks to address weaknesses in the mentoring literature by presenting a thorough and thick description of the peer mentoring experience for REM women in HBCU pursuing STEM degrees.

A multi-site case study approach (Yin, 2014) was employed to explore to what extent, if at all, and how did participating in the virtual STEM peer-mentoring experience influence peer mentees' STEM beliefs, interests, skills and behaviors.

Findings demonstrated that the experiences of undergraduate REM women mentees supported engagement in virtual STEM peer mentoring as it was beneficial to developing a sense of belonging, enhancing interest in STEM, encouraging STEM identity, building STEM self-efficacy and, ultimately, promoting STEM persistence. The current study provides a rich picture of how and why peer mentoring is perceived as effective by mentees in STEM programs at HBCUs.

The findings from this study contribute greatly to the body of knowledge and will serve as a foundational model on which future VSTEM PM relationships can be built and fostered among other HBCUs, with the potential to broaden participation in STEM.

After the closing of four of the five historically Black college and university (HBCU)–based library and information science (LIS) graduate programs (leaving only that of North Carolina Central University), there is a need to revitalize HBCU-LIS degree program pathways to increase racial diversity in LIS education.

This mixed-methods study entails survey and interview research with HBCU librarians. The researchers explored participants’ professional experiences and perspectives on creating partnerships between HBCU institutions and LIS graduate programs.

Participants demonstrated substantial experience, expressed high levels of job satisfaction, viewed pipeline programs favorably and believed that LIS can be strengthened through the inclusion of HBCU educational practices and students.

This study provides recommendations and a model for forging culturally competent and reciprocal HBCU–LIS degree program partnerships.

Community-led knowledge of HBCUs can disrupt rescue and deficiency narratives of these institutions. Such prejudices are detrimental to HBCU-LIS degree program partnerships.

Past HBCU-LIS degree program pipeline partnerships did not culminate in research or published best practices. This paper presents literature-derived and community-sourced guidelines along with a model for future initiatives.

Using survey research, the purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of diversity to examine perceptions of diversity and inclusion among majority and non-majority students at a predominately White university (PWI) and a historically Black university (HBCU) observing any patterns of difference between majority and non-majority groups to make inferences regarding students’ sense of belonging, given current national efforts to establish inclusive excellence on university campuses.

Results based on Likert-scale responses on a validated questionnaire were analyzed using independent samples t-tests to identify differences for each survey item. Eta squared was used as an effect size measure. The PWI and HBCU were then compared by item analysis. A two-way factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the independent impact of each of the universities (i.e. PWI, HBCU) and the interaction of those two factors in their effect on the dependent variables (i.e. race, gender, sexuality).

Results indicated significant differences between the majority and non-majority groups on multiple items within each university site. Further, significant differences were observed between the universities in perceptions and experiences of diversity and inclusion.

Unique in this study was an examination of perceptions of inclusion at a PWI and an HBCU based not only on non-majority status of race, but also on gender and sexuality with the intention of expanding the research base associated with “sense of belonging” to other groups who have existed as “diverse others” in the context of majority culture dominance.

This study was conducted to examine how proficiencies, motivation, and training impact the success of faculty development for web‐based instruction (WBI) at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the USA.

Data in this mixed‐design exploratory study came from responses to an online questionnaire and follow‐up interviews. Seven four‐year public HBCUs that offered online curricula and provided faculty development opportunities in various forms such as workshops and seminars were examined.

The results of the study indicated that faculty were proficient in basic technologies, but less proficient in more demanding technologies; provision of incentives such as time off to attend training was motivating for WBI participation; and faculty preferred individualized training and workshops.

Successful faculty development is as a complex process that involves several integrated components which should be viewed as an intentional, ongoing, and systemic process. Nonetheless, it plays an important role, particularly if programs are available to help faculty link effective delivery in their own teaching and research areas.

Meaningful faculty development should be extendable to all instruction, whether in‐class, web‐based, or web‐enhanced. Faculty development opportunities extending beyond the basic uses of technology and seeking connections between curriculum, pedagogy, technology, and administration to technology success is paramount.

Feedback from this study can serve as a resource for decision‐making about WBI projects. The results of the study should provide data and information that supports the technological mission of institutions.