By Jurnee Taylor
Members of the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus joined historically Black college and university leaders Thursday to introduce new legislation aimed at investing in HBCU campuses across the country, including Arkansas institutions.
Co-chairs of the caucus, French Hill and Alma Adams, introduced H.R. 8791, the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, during a press conference on Capitol Hill alongside university presidents, advocates, and lawmakers.
The bipartisan, bicameral legislation would direct the Department of Education to create a competitive grant program for historically Black colleges and universities to modernize, renovate, and construct campus facilities.
The proposed funding could support instructional labs, research facilities, student housing, broadband infrastructure, campus safety systems, and workforce development programs.
Companion legislation in the Senate is being led by Tim Scott and Chris Coons.
Hill said the legislation builds on conversations he hosted during a recent HBCU summit in Arkansas and reflects growing bipartisan support for long-term investment in HBCUs.
“This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would create a competitive grant program to help HBCUs modernize, renovate, and construct campus facilities,” Hill said during Thursday’s announcement.
The proposal comes as lawmakers across the country continue discussing ways to strengthen HBCUs through federal funding. However, leaders involved with Thursday’s announcement emphasized this legislation differs from previous proposals because of its broad bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and its specific focus on infrastructure, technology, and workforce readiness.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Chancellor Dr. Anthony Graham attended the announcement in Washington and said the legislation signals a deeper commitment to institutions like UAPB.
“Strengthening research capacity and modernizing infrastructure at HBCUs is essential to advancing workforce development, innovation, economic mobility, and the long-term competitiveness of our nation,” Graham said.
In an interview with THV11 following the announcement, Graham said the bill could help institutions like UAPB scale research opportunities, modernize aging facilities, and better compete nationally.
“If we really want to make America great again, then we need to invest in our historically black colleges and universities, because we have, for generations, really been one of the drivers of moving the middle class of this country, building it and sustaining it,” Graham said. “So this act signals, for me, that there is some serious commitment in this space, and now we need to make certain that we’re passing the act so that these funds can help us scale and accelerate.”
Supporters of the legislation say HBCUs continue to play a critical role in workforce development and STEM education nationwide. According to leaders involved in the announcement, the nation’s 19 land-grant HBCUs graduate roughly 27 percent of African Americans earning STEM degrees and contribute billions annually to local economies.
Graham said the next step is ensuring the legislation gains enough support to move through Congress.
“We’ve always had to fight above our weight class, and we’ve done it with significant underfunding for generations,” Graham said. “So investing in our institutions in this way lets us know that there’s some serious thought around what our HBCUs can do.”
Graham also clarified that the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act should not be confused with separate HBCU legislation introduced earlier this year by Raphael Warnock.
“There’s another act that was introduced by Senator Raphael Warnock and Senator Robin Britt just about two months ago, called the HBCU Research Capacity Act,” Graham said. “So there’s some people who are getting the two confused and thinking it’s one act. There are two separate acts, both of which are intended to help our historically black colleges and universities.”
Graham said supporters of the legislation are now focused on educating alumni, stakeholders, and community members about the differences between the proposals and advocating for the bill as it moves through Congress.
