Lessons From an HBCU’s Demise y Benjamin Todd Jealous This fall, as college campuses open their doors to the bustle of students, one historically black institution will remain silent. In the old colonial town of Lawrenceville, Va., Saint Paul’s College has shut its doors after more than a century of operation. The college had fallen on hard times in recent years, and it serves as a canary in the coal mine for other historically black colleges and universities that face an uncertain economic future. Saint Paul’s College was founded in 1888 by my grandfather’s uncle, James Solomon Russell. A former slave who died an archdeacon and university principal-emeritus, Russell understood the transformative power of education. He opened Saint Paul’s Normal and Industrial School with fewer than a dozen students and a mandate to train teachers. Over the next 125 years, the school became a hub for education training in the region, producing many teachers in Virginia and neighboring states. Many of the students who attended Saint Paul’s over the years were the first in their family to attend college. The vast majority came from poor families. The school even offered a child-care program for single parents enrolled in classes. Like so many other HBCU’s in underserved communities, Saint Paul’s was a lifeline. The recent recession hit Saint Paul’s especially hard. Like many HBCU’s, the college lacked a wealthy donor base or strong endowment that could help it weather the financial storm. Faced with mounting bills, college officials closed the child-care program, laid off top teachers, and watched enrollment numbers fall back to near-1888 levels. Last fall, St. Paul’s opened its final academic year with just over 100 students before shuttering its doors for good. chronicle/blogs/conversation/2013/09/09/lessons-from-an-hbcus-demise/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 01:20:50 +0000