How Can HBCU Economics Departments Thrive and Compete?
Paper Session
Friday, Jan. 6, 2023 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM (CST)
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Chairs:
Richard America, Georgetown University - Suneye Holmes, Spelman College
Economics Departments at African Methodist Episcopal Church Supported Colleges: Academic Capitalism to the Rescue?
Abstract
The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church has been actively involved in higher education for over one hundred sixty years. AME colleges are fully accredited thru regional and non-regional accrediting agencies. Currently, the number of baccalaureate degree granting colleges supported by the AME Church is less than ten. While the number may be small, the total number of students served is close to 12,000 FTEs.This paper examines how economics as a subject matter and degree program has fared over one hundred sixty years. The paper offers a critical look at the integration of economics within the respective academic curriculum at AME supported colleges in the United States and abroad. To understand the dynamics of economics at AME colleges, the paper adopts variations of the “academic capitalism model.” This heuristic concept can potentially shed important theoretical insight about the evolution and devolution of economics at these Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
The paper introduces the historical contribution and impact of Wilberforce University scholar Milton J. Wright, first black to earn a Ph.D. in economics from the German university Heidelberg University in 1932, and his creation of the first economics department at the AME flagship college, Wilberforce University in 1933. The results of the academic capitalism models will offer a technical guide to explain and predict the future of economics as a degree program at AME supported colleges. The paper concludes with Higher education policy alternatives based on the implications of academic capitalistic dynamics.
What Can Historically Black Colleges and Universities Teach about Improving Higher Education Outcomes for Black Students?
Abstract
Historically Black Colleges and Universities are institutions that were established prior to 1964 with the principal mission of educating Black Americans. In this essay, we focus on two main issues. We start by examining how Black College graduates perform across HBCUs and non-HBCUs by looking at a relatively broad range of outcomes, including college and graduate school completion, job satisfaction, social mobility, civic engagement, and health. HBCUs punch significantly above their weight, especially considering their significant lack of resources. We then turn to the potential causes of these differences and provide a glimpse into the "secret sauce" of HBCUs. We conclude with potential implications for HBCU and non-HBCU policy.Role Models Revisited: HBCUs, Same-Race Teacher Effects, and Black Student Achievement
Abstract
This paper presents the first analysis of the impact of teachers trained at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Using multiple estimators that leverage within-student variation in teacher assignment in North Carolina elementary schools, I find Black students score higher on end-of-grade math exams when assigned to an HBCU-trained teacher. Both Black and White HBCU-trained teachers are more effective with Black students than their same-race, non-HBCU peers are. Suggestive evidence indicates students with HBCU-trained teachers experience lower suspension rates, particularly Black boys. Effects are unexplained by differences in observable teacher characteristics; I propose they are at least partly the result of differential teacher education practices between colleges.Discussant(s)
Marionette Holmes
,
Spelman College
LaTanya Brown-Robertson
,
Bowie State University
Susanne Toney
,
Hampton University
Bernard Anderson
,
University of Pennsylvania
JEL Classifications
- I2 - Education and Research Institutions
- J1 - Demographic Economics