Howard’s Calvin Hadley is asking for black men to enroll at HBCUs

October 30, 2024

The number of black men attending HBCUs has dropped to a nearly 50-year low, and HBCU administrators are beginning to notice

An unusual number of black men attending HBCUs fell to the lowest level in almost 50 yearsand HBCU administrators are beginning to notice this troubling trend.

According to NPRblack males currently make up only 26% of HBCU students, down significantly from 38% in 1976.

According to an analysis by the American Institute on Boys and Men, the decline in attendance at HBCUs by black males is are influenced by many factors.

According to their study, “this decline in black students is caused by factors such as inadequate K-12 preparation, a lack of black faculty, and financial barriers both individual and institutional.”

NPR Joanna Summers spoke with Calvin Hadley, assistant provost for academic partnerships and student engagement at Howard University, about the university’s challenges.

Hadley, a graduate of the university where he now works, told Summers that he noticed a difference in recruiting men and women while at Howard.

“I’m a Howard graduate, so I remember as a student at the time the numbers were pretty drastic as well. I think when I was a student between 2004 and 2008 we were around 33-34%. Now, as you announced in your introduction, Howard University is only about 25% male,” Hadley said.

He continued, “And I think recent statistics show that (Howard) is about 19% black men. And it’s felt on campus, it’s felt, I think in our social clubs, it’s felt in the yard. And I think a lot of our male students have commented that in some of their classes, they’re the only men in the class.”

Hadley continued, showing his concern. “In every educational institution, we want to get a variety of experiences. And so when you don’t have as many men in the class, the diversity of experience is greatly diminished. It gets even scarier as we trace it forward, doesn’t it? I think we’re dealing with a really unique statistic right now. Black men are far less likely to graduate than black women.”

Hadley also noted that this problem is not limited to HBCUs.

“And that’s why this decline over the last decade has been observed more sharply. But that’s not really Howard’s problem. This is not an HBCU problem. This is not a PWI problem. This is the problem with American education.”

Hadley also noted that compared to black applicants to Howard, the number of black women who applied to the university far exceeded even the significant increase in black men who applied for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Hadley concluded the interview with a direct appeal to black men to come to Howard, noting that black men are being left behind in American society and potentially negatively impacting their future families due to their lack of higher education.

“You attend an HBCU for an education, not a degree, and as an assistant provost, that’s an unpopular thing to say. The education you receive at an HBCU goes beyond the classroom experience. It goes beyond your relationship with the professor. Education exists between the lines of the pages. HBCUs fill you with a sense of faith. We talked about the importance of that belief on the front end, the belief gap that exists in K to 12,” Hadley stated.

He concluded: “HBCUs are designed to instill in you the belief that you can be even greater than you can dream. Howard University and the HBCU community have made me—and many other people, like our vice president—feel that I am enough. I can be successful in my studies. But my world is not just academics. I can be enough, and I can contribute to this society, in this space, in a way that makes me feel whole and allows me to contribute to something much bigger than myself. The HBCU community needs you. And so when I talk to that young man in 2024: come, because we need you. Come because you are important. Come, because our community is hurting without you.”