U.S. H.U.D. Secretary Marcia L. Fudge leads HBCU roundtable at Xavier

March 14, 2023

By Kiersten McCollum, Staff Writer

Prioritizing the voices and needs of Louisiana Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Secretary Marcia L. Fudge from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development hosted a roundtable discussion with African American academic leaders on Feb. 16, 2023. Xavier’s University Center was home to a roundtable dedicated to identifying opportunities for HBCUs to increase their visibility and collaboration in alignment with the priorities of the Biden-Harris administration. The discussion was moderated by U.S. Rep. Troy A. Carter, Sr., D.-La.

“The theme for this Black History Month is Black resistance. Everybody knows, President and Vice President included, I am unapologetically Black. I will do whatever I can to help my people, if I can’t do that I have no business in this space,” said Secretary Marcia Fudge.

Xavier’s President Dr. Reynold Verret joined Dillard University President Dr. Rochelle Ford, Southern University and A&M College President Dennis J. Shields, and current Commissioner of Higher Education for Louisiana Dr. Kim Hunter Reed.

“Students who understand the critical opportunity that education offers to them but have so many barriers that they have to overcome; food insecurities, child care, transportation, housing insecurities,” Reed said. “And so as we think about this work I do appreciate that there are leaders like this [Secretary Fudge] to say, we can make a difference, we can remove barriers, and let’s listen and learn together to move the work forward,” Reed added.

Fudge emphasized the significance of having young leaders in the room to express their lived experiences and the importance that greater collaboration with HUD and the Biden-Harris administration could have on the students these intuitions are dedicated to serving. Fudge had recently made an appearance at Jackson State University as a follow-up to her meeting at Tougaloo College this past summer as a part of her “HUD on the road” tour.

During the roundtable, university representatives took their introductions as an opportunity to discuss plans they had in place at their institutions that aligned with HUD’s goals. President Ford talked about Dillard and the unique circumstances that these Louisiana-based institutions face during hurricane season and the safety protocols necessary in conversations about housing and homeownership for students and faculty.

“We want to make sure that our faculty and staff can afford to be dedicated to our students, right now they do it out of the kindness of their hearts but in a city like New Orleans, which is very expensive to live in, with the price of flood insurance and the price of other challenges that may be expenses from living in this area, it’s hard to attract and retain excellent talent,” Ford said.

University leaders spoke about housing programs for HBCU students for the longevity and improvement of quality of life for students. President Shields made it a point to state that a priority

placed on affordable housing directly increases graduation rates, lessening the dropout rate and time spent allocating student loan debt.

“We know one of the biggest impediments to homeownership is student debt. Who has student debt? Black people, brown people, and poor people,” Fudge said. “So what we have done is we have changed the way we weigh student debt so that if you are weighed down by student debt you can still qualify to get a loan because we don’t want to exclude people from being able to achieve homeownership,” Fudge added.

Fudge showed genuine interest in the continued success of these institutions filled with young minds that she said looked like herself. She made it a point to emphasize in her closing statements the significance of this HBCU Advisory roundtable discussion.

“We know that HBCUs often are the economic centers of their communities, so if we can assist with doing things not just student housing but other housing. Maybe you’re in a position where you can’t get the kind of staff you need because there’s not a place for them to live that they wish to live, let us help you with that,” Fudge said.