Campus News - Page 15

Bowie State University to Lay Off Employees as the HBCU Faces an $18 Million Deficit

Bowie State University in Maryland has announced plans to cut 79 positions as the HBCU faces an $18 million deficit heading into Fiscal Year 2027, according to a letter sent to the campus community by President Aminta H. Breaux, Provost Guy-Alain Amoussou, and Vice President for Finance and Administration Manish Kumar. In fiscal year 2026, Bowie State addressed a $13.6 million shortfall without conducting layoffs. Instead, the HBCU implemented various cost reductions, delayed hiring, eliminated vacant positions, and developed process improvements to increase revenue. However, the fiscal year 2027 budget estimates an approximate $18 million deficit, due in part to “reduced state

HBCU Going Through Bankruptcy Looks To Sell $200M In Real Estate

St. Augustine’s University’s campus outside of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina A historically Black university in North Carolina is the latest in a series of small schools to fall on hard times. Amid Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, St. Augustine’s University is considering selling part of its 105-acre campus just outside of Downtown Raleigh. The university owes between $50M and $100M to creditors, ABC11 reported. Its real estate holdings are valued at $200M and include the main campus near Downtown Raleigh and other parcels in Greensboro, North Carolina, Rome, Georgia, and Lawrenceville, Virginia, the Triangle Business Journal reported. The main campus is encumbered by liens held by creditors, including the IRS.

North Carolina A&T Chancellor James Martin II Discusses Higher Ed’s Pivotal Moment

By Autumn A. Arnett As the Black Alumni Collective National Conference convenes on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus under the theme, “The Fierce Urgency of Now: Black Advocacy from Campus to Corporate to Congress,” Dr. James R. Martin II, chancellor of North Carolina A&T University, says that despite the setbacks of the present “post-DEI environment” higher education is staring down, he sees a historic opening for some institutions. The landscape has shifted, Martin argues — economically, technologically, and politically — and while institutions, their leaders, and their alumni cannot afford to respond slowly, Martin says he does see an opportunity for historically Black institutions to reassert their importance to the national agenda.

Kentucky State students file lawsuit to stop state takeover of HBCU

Courtesy of Kentucky State University Things are getting even more complicated at Kentucky State University. Just days after one lawsuit challenged a sweeping new state law aimed at restructuring the school, a second class action suit has now been filed—this time by a group of anonymous students who say the legislation itself is unconstitutional, according to reports. The May 21 filing comes less than two weeks after an earlier lawsuit from students and alumni argued that the same law violated civil rights protections, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. Now, the latest legal challenge targets the law’s passage, accusing lawmakers of

First Woman Aerospace Engineering Faculty is Connecting Students to Opportunity

By Thonnia Lee Dr. Shuting Yang joined the Tuskegee University faculty last fall as the first woman tenure-track faculty of Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering, bringing to her role a distinguished academic background and a lifelong love of flight. Yang earned her Ph.D., Master’s, and Bachelor’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, one of the nation’s leading institutions for engineering education. Her extensive training and expertise positions her as a dynamic force in both research and education. “Since I was young, I’ve always been interested in the science behind flight,” said Dr. Yang who

Fisk University Launches $1 Billion Campus Strategic Plan

Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, has launched “Quantum Leap,” the most robust campus master plan in the HBCU’s 160-year history. The multi-decade initiative is estimated to invest some $1 billion in campus infrastructure and academic programs. A core element of Quantum Leap is a new Innovation Center, an eco-friendly hub housed on five undeveloped acres on Fisk’s campus. The 100,000-square-foot facility will include space for academic instruction and a technology center designed to facilitate interdisciplinary research. The Innovation Center will also offer academic enrichment and workforce development opportunities to members of the Fisk University community as well as the greater

This HBCU Just Had The Largest Graduating Class In Its History For Spring 2026 Commencement

For students and families gathered at Bowie State University on May 22, 2026, this year’s commencement ceremony was bigger than a graduation. It was a celebration of legacy and possibility unfolding in real time. According to a university press release, Bowie State honored 887 graduates during its Spring 2026 commencement ceremony, making it the largest graduating class in the university’s history. The historic class included 696 undergraduate students, 160 master’s degree recipients, and 31 doctoral graduates. Founded in 1865 as Maryland’s first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and one of the oldest HBCUs in the nation, the moment carried added weight. More than 160

‘Find a Way or Make a Way’: Congresswoman Nikema Williams Announces $250,000 in Campus Security Funding for CAU

By Laura Nwogu | The Atlanta Voice Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have faced a surge of threats across the country in recent years, resulting in lockdowns or closures and concerns among students, parents, faculty, and staff about their safety. On the heels of these threats, the latest of which happened in 2025 when terroristic threats against Georgia’s AUC campuses triggered a lockdown, Congresswoman Nikema Williams has secured $250,000 in funding forClark Atlanta University’s campus security. The funding will strengthen security measures on campus, enabling the Clark Atlanta University Police Department to upgrade technology, enhance communication systems, and expand initiatives

Student commencement boos are a sign of wider AI woes

By Angela Yang and Jared Perlo As companies race to weave AI into nearly every industry, some college students are responding with open hostility. At at least three college commencement ceremonies this month, graduates loudly booed invited speakers who praised AI. On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance addressed the incidents in a speech at the U.S. Air Force Academy, acknowledging the growing anti-AI sentiment. On at least five campuses, students have also formed anti-AI groups, gathering with peers to advocate for slowing the technology’s unchecked development. The pushback reflects a widening disconnect between business leaders’ optimism about AI and students’ anxieties over its

HBCU graduate gets student loans paid off by Lil’ Baby

An HBCU grad recently got the best graduation gift that she could ask for from rapper Lil’ Baby. The Atlanta-based rapper recently paid off the student loan balance of Spelman College student Janay Lesley, also known as Nay Speaks. Lesley is an aspiring rapper with 105,000 followers on Instagram. She posted about Lil’ Baby paying off her tuition on her Instagram account, which has gone viral and has been covered by BET and The Shade Room. “I was a graduating senior at Spelman College. I am now a Spelman alumni. Chat, we made it across the stage. I let Lil Baby and his team

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