Greetings from Tennessee State University (TSU)
We gather here at this unique conference in Atlanta for a common purpose that envelops all HBCUs as we enter the new millennium, and that is the big disparity in technology access and use by a large segment of our society that subsumes more than 80% of our students.
We are here to seek solutions since we are aware of the problems. That is, as academic institutions, we must come to grips with the inescapable fact that technology infusion within our institutions is no longer an option; it is an absolute necessity for our survival. This very important message must be clear to each of you in this audience in your diverse roles as presidents, chancellors or other top management, faculty and staff, students, and other stakeholders in our valued institutions. In short, let us “cut the chase” and get on with these solutions … now!
By way of background on the theme of this conference, let me say that Tennessee State University, now at nearly 9000 students, has experienced a significant increase in enrollment at a time when other colleges and universities face declining enrollment. We have done this by developing new programs and strengthening existing programs aimed at nurturing students from wherever they stood academically on entry. As with most other HBCUs, over 85% of our students qualify for some type of financial aid because they have household incomes below $35,000, which is precisely the income zone that now characterizes the most negative impacts of the digital divide in our society.
Concurrently, TSU has made significant capital improvements to attract and retain our students, such as a new student center, new residence hall facilities, new administrative offices, and a fiber-optic network to support our technology-based vision of the future. TSU reached international notice through the discovery and validation of the first extrasolar planet by one of our scientists. These and similar events have effected a metamorphosis of our campus and created a significant impact on the entire extended community served by the University.
Still TSU as all other HBCUs are entering a new millennium where there will be ever-increasing demands on our institutions to keep our students aligned to the challenges of the new digital economy. The “digital divide” in our society surfaces in the form of a much higher density of technology-underserved students arriving on our campuses from the secondary sector or as non-traditional older students already in the workplace; we must nurture them from whatever technology positions they bring on entry. But this reality presents an additional and unique challenge to our institutions as compared to non-HBCUs.
Hence the theme of this conference is to “cut the chase” and find solutions that will close this “digital divide” that exists among our institutions as compared to other higher education institutions (HEIs) in deference to the unique population we traditionally served and will continue to serve. We must meet frontally and then conquer these challenges amidst a multitude of constraints, many of which will come to focus during this conference.
One of the first steps toward a solution to the negative impacts of the digital divide is to establish the platforms within our institutions to doubly assure that our student-graduates are equipped for the digital economy of the future. This must be done in spite of being technology-underserved when they enter our institutions. This vision goes far beyond the optional computer lab use for some students, or the casual use of technology by some faculty, staff and management, or the occasional use of technology to enhance productivity.
It simply means a dramatic change from the way we have done our business of education in the past; this change must embrace technology infusion, which must be institutional and permanent.
First, we must conclude collectively that technology is no longer an option or add-on to the traditional education processes, it is now a necessity and this message must be firmly implanted among every person at our institutions, especially our students. To do this, our faculty must be both motivated to use, and equipped with, the tools to “teach technology” by infusing it into every course, not just those in the sciences and engineering as in the past. In order for our faculty to do their jobs, HBCU management must assure strong and continuous support through careful planning and budgeting with a sufficiently high priority with other institutional issues.
But
to remain competitive as academic institutions in the future, we must optimize
both human and technical resources in terms of productivity increases. The costs
of education are increasing rapidly, and such costs are more often than not
passed directly on to students who can least afford them. We must increase our
productivity to keep from losing the competitive edge to attract, retain, and
graduate the new students of this millennium, and especially minority
students.
The
challenges to all HBCUs are increasing and will likely continue to increase.
To remain competitive, technology needs will fuel tuition and fee
increases among an ever-strained student population.
Increased competition for human resources will be exacting, as salaries
and other incentives will have to increase to remain competitive.
In
addition, there are ever-present forces that work against a “level playing
field” for federal, state and private funds needed to counter these
challenges.
For example, “matching funds” are now the baseline for many
opportunities; this requirement often eliminates a large number of our
institutions from competing for such opportunities regardless of need.
Many funding awards are being made to other entities with the caveat to
include HBCUs, but with little or no accountability after the fact.
The “HBCU set-aside” has all but vanished as a result of recent
far-reaching legal judgments.
Overall, federal funding for research at HBCUs, a dominant source of
technology support in the past, has decreased precipitously over the past five
years.
Within
this conference and others to follow, we must re-examine and re-visit these and
related issues and bring them to the forefront as often as possible.
Indeed such issues go beyond those related to technology infusion on our
campuses, but they are absolutely critical in the interest of sustaining
these valued institutions.
APPRECIATION
OF THIS AWARD FROM THE AOL FOUNDATION
Amidst
all of the challenges I have just cited, we are thankful for this event, which
is sponsored by the AOL Foundation.
Notably, the TSU proposal was selected as one of twelve (12) from among 900
or more submitted to the Foundation in a national competition.
From this initializing effort, we expect to foster an effective alliance
among many other stakeholders in our valued institutions from industry,
government, other foundations, and other academia as well.
For the support for this project, we are deeply appreciative. I wish to show our appreciation by presenting this plaque on behalf of Tennessee State University to Mr. B. Keith Fulton, Executive Director of the AOL Foundation.
Thank
you … and goodbye.