In 1862, the Morrill Act started federal support of postsecondary education in the United States by authorizing land grant institutions. This allowed for a steady financial support system for post-secondary institutions to mitigate the cost of attendance for students.
The Morrill Act demonstrated a historical commitment to making higher education accessible for everyone, removing barriers for those who were not financially positioned to pay for college. As such, state sponsorship allowed for many to further their aspirations towards education, careers, and essentially, upward mobility.
There are land grant institutions in 18 states, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. Of these states, only two have properly funded their land grant institutions, in a crisis that has been brewing for the past 13 years. Divestment of millions of dollars are owed to historically Black colleges and universities by their state legislatures. Tennessee State University has been amplified in the news in recent months as having the largest financial shortfall of all land grant institutions. TSU has been marred by high turnover, neglect from authorities, leadership upheaval and discriminatory practices.
In September, the Biden Administration dispatched a letter from Education Secretary Cordona and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to the governors of the following 16 states regarding the financial shortfall being faced by land grant institutions: Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Gov. Michael Parson of Missouri, Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Gov. J. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina, Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, and Gov. James C. Justice II of West Virginia.
An excerpt from the letter to the governor of Tennessee states: “Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions make innumerable contributions to our country through the research produced by their faculty, achievements of their students and alumni, and services that they provide to the immediate community. As noted in the HBCU PARTNERS Act, while HBCUs, including 1890 land-grant institutions, represent 3 percent of postsecondary institutions, they enroll about 10 percent of all Black college students. Furthermore, these institutions generate close to $15 billion in economic impact and over 134,000 jobs annually in the local and regional economies they serve.”
“Using readily available data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Survey (IPEDS) that ranges from 1987 to 2020, we calculated the amount that these institutions would have received if their state funding per student were equal to that of 1862 institutions,” the letter continued. “Unequitable funding of the 1890 institution in your state has caused a severe financial gap, in the last 30 years alone, an additional $2,147,784,704 would have been available for the university. These funds could have supported infrastructure and student services and would have better positioned the university to compete for research grants. Tennessee State University has been able to make remarkable strides and would be much stronger and better positioned to serve its students, your state, and the nation if made whole with respect to this funding gap.”
In March, legislators in Tennessee decided to dismiss the board immediately, which garnered visceral criticism. When the board pressed the legislature, they were dismissed in an act of political power abuse. The state failed to identify legal wrongdoings made by the board but actions taken were to conduct audits and suggest areas for improvement. Within just minutes of the dissolution, the governor had appointed eight new members. This decision occurred without debate and seems by many to be void of legitimate scrutiny by the lawmakers. The majority GOP Tennessee State House passed a vote with a tally of 66 to 25 in favor of vacating the TSU Board of Trustees.
TSU has struggled to survive with limited resources. Rep. Justin J. Pearson has denounced this as perpetuating racism from past generations into current legislation. Conversely, the University of Tennessee, a predominantly white land grant university in the state has consistently received their full state funding each year, sometimes even exceeding requirements.
The divestment of land grant HBCUs raises many questions about discriminatory practices and is reminiscent of the dog whistle tactics that were employed after 12 years of the Reconstruction era. What is happening has implications of classicism, elitism, racism and political abuse. Attention to policies matter.