By Antonio White
Recent reports revealed that billionaire MacKenzie Scott donated approximately $740 million to 16 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), bringing her total support to an estimated $1.3 billion over five years. In a higher-education landscape defined by political hostility, chronic underfunding, and widening racial inequity, Scott’s gifts delivered something HBCUs rarely receive: unrestricted capital and trust — the freedom to make decisions on their own terms.
Credit: Courtesy photo
That alone is revolutionary. Traditional philanthropy often arrives with strings attached: donor-directed programs, spending restrictions, and reporting requirements that can take up enormous staff time and administrative bandwidth — especially for institutions already operating with lean teams. These guardrails limit how leaders can apply funds to their most urgent priorities. Scott’s approach recognizes something obvious yet long denied: HBCU presidents and their leadership teams are the experts on what their students and communities need.
This generosity also arrives at a moment of profound crisis for future graduates. Federal officials recently confirmed that states have underfunded land-grant HBCUs by more than $13 billion over the past three decades. Meanwhile, political attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, rising food and housing costs, and industry-wide disruption driven by artificial intelligence have left many Black students questioning whether higher education can still deliver mobility. Scott’s gift is not just philanthropy; it is a counterweight to a political project designed to shrink opportunity.
HBCU leaders now have a once-in-a-generation chance to address affordability and build durable institutional power. Their first priority must be students — the most financially vulnerable stakeholders. Already, an estimated 90 percent of HBCU students rely on federal or state aid. Pell Grants have not kept pace with tuition. Surveys from the Hope Center also show that Black students experience disproportionate rates of food and housing insecurity, making persistence and graduation harder even before loan repayment begins.
With crippling, historic student debt levels already forcing recent grads to delay home purchases and retirement saving, and home ownership costs being at their highest in history, directly attacking university costs for students would directly contributed to wealth building economic opportunity. Researchers back this claim: analysts tracking Morehouse graduates after Robert Smith’s historic $34 million gift to Morehouse’s 2019 graduating class will save $1 million more over their lifetime with student debt being eliminated as a savings barrier. Scott’s gift gives HBCU leaders the chance to replicate that kind of generational impact in their own way.
The second priority must be strengthening university endowments — the financial engines that determine long-term stability, independence, and academic capacity. Endowments are not symbolic; they are power. They allow universities to weather recessions, recruit top faculty, expand research, and invest in students without pleading with legislatures for support. For most of the last century, HBCUs were excluded from the donor networks, capital markets, and federal research pipelines that enabled predominantly white institutions to build multibillion-dollar endowments. Compounding returns widened the gap every year. Right now, HBCUs account for 3 percent of U.S. institutions but cumulative endowments represent under 1 percent of all university endowments. Scott’s gift presents a rare opportunity to correct that imbalance.
Third, capital projects should be approached with strategic discipline. Buildings matter: safe dorms, modern labs, and updated facilities shape student outcomes. But unrestricted cash should not be swallowed by construction costs that can be financed elsewhere through tax credits, public-private partnerships, and mission-driven lenders. Morgan State University offers an instructive model: by leveraging more than $20 million in New Markets Tax Credits, the university attracted additional financing to redevelop the Northwood Plaza area and construct a new business school — all while preserving institutional funds for affordability, research, and academic growth.
If HBCU leaders center resilience, affordability, and sustainability, Scott’s gifts can catalyze more than one-time improvements. They can stabilize enrollment, expand research capacity, and revive neighborhoods that have endured generations of disinvestment.
But the true measure of this moment will not be the size of the check. It will be whether HBCUs can translate it into lasting institutional power. With disciplined stewardship — and the freedom Scott’s gifts finally provide — HBCUs can turn a philanthropic windfall into long-term stability and send a clear message to the country: investment in these institutions is not charity. It is community and nation-building.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the AFRO.