For this assignment, you will act as a change agent consultant for a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). This institution would like for a consultant to address a consistent issue—limited tenure of HBCU presidents. You will be presented with a case (Leaders Wanted! The Skills Expected and Needed for a Successful 21st Century Historically Black College and University Presidency) from the weekly resources, which describes some of the underlying factors. This case will examine the 21st-century HBCU presidency, and components needed to retain this type of administration.
After evaluation of the case, other weekly readings and videos about HBCU history and background, you will now align and integrate strategies, SMART goals, and theoretical frameworks to address the underlying conditions of this overwhelming issue.
Be sure you address the following components in your Strategy Paper:
Include the overall history and background of HBCUs and presidential tenure.
Identify up to five factors that directly/indirectly cause a shift in historical and/or present retention of HBCU presidents.
Apply up to two theoretical frameworks to understand the underlying issues of an HBCU president’s retention and organizational culture/environment.
Include up to five SMART Goals used to identify goals to address the problem as you have analyzed it from the case and other resources.
Align at least five strategies with supportive content to address retention issues among HBCU presidents.
As you move from the role of change implementer, the role of the change agent is explored. Change agents can be either inside or outside of an organization, for purposes of transforming organizational effectiveness, improvement, and development. They mainly focus on people and their interactions. They can also play the role of researchers, consultants, teachers, or acting managers.
Change agents must be able to lead the transformation. There must also be a sense of investment from the change agent to conceptualize where they are taking the organization. Additionally, they are responsible for communicating that concept to the organization by getting people consistently aligned and on board with the vision. But what happens when change agents are not a part or more of an external component to an organization’s culture?
This week, you will simulate the role of a change agent consultant for a historically black college university (HBCU). Your main goal will be to address a long-standing problem and that is HBCU president retention.
But first, here’s a brief history of HBCU’s in the United States:
The Institute for Colored Youth (briefly the African Institute at its founding) opened on a farm outside Philadelphia in 1837. It is today the Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, which is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. It is the first HBCU.
HBCUs disproportionately enroll low income, first-generation and academically underprepared college students –precisely the students that the country most needs to obtain college degrees.
More than 75% of students at HBCUs rely on Pell Grants and nearly 13% rely on PLUS Loans to meet their college expenses.
HBCUs have 1/8 of the average size of endowments than historically white colleges and universities.
HBCUs represent less than 3% of colleges and universities.
HBCUs enroll 12% of all African American students.
HBCUs produce 23% of all African American graduates.
HBCUs confer 40% of all STEM degrees.
Sixty percent of all engineering degrees are earned by African- American students.
HBCUs educate 50% of African-American teachers and 40% of African-American health professionals.
Seventy percent of African-American dentists and physicians earned degrees at HBCUs.
Fifty-eight percent of HBCUs offer students the opportunity to study abroad.
Fifty percent of HBCU alumni are professors at non-HBCUs, 50% are lawyers, and 80% are judges.
Forty percent of HBCU alumni are members of congress, 12.5% are CEOs, and 40% are engineers.
(Source: United Negro College Fund, n.d.)
So, based on this extensive listing of favorable statistics and videos, why do HBCU presidents exhibit a failure to be retained? Think about both internal and external factors, as you navigate the resources for this week. More importantly, it’s time to put your change agent hat on particularly when evaluating the institution’s student, faculty, and staff culture, as well as regional/global market, demand, technology, and existing models.
References
United Negro College Fund (n.d.). HBCUs make American strong: The positive economic impact of historically black colleges and universities
