Dear Governor Lee:
As we work toward expanding America’s position as a world leader, it is our shared goal to produce the best and the brightest talent that any country has to offer. We know that you and other Governors around the country are deeply focused on and committed to education, as evidenced by the significant portion of state budgets for education spending. We also know you share the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to the goal of excellence in education for all students. It is through the opportunities provided to our students that we will be able to innovate beyond what we thought was possible just a few years ago and even today.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions make innumerable contributions to our country through the research produced by their faculty, achievements of their students and alumni, and services that they provide to the immediate community. As noted in the HBCU PARTNERS Act, while HBCUs, including 1890 land-grant institutions, represent 3 percent of postsecondary institutions, they enroll about 10 percent of all Black college students. Furthermore, these institutions generate close to $15 billion in economic impact and over 134,000 jobs annually in the local and regional economies they serve.
To ensure we are able to compete at a high level and develop the strong workforce that will propel this country into the future, generate the next wave of job creators, and fuel our economy, it is imperative that high-quality educational opportunities are available to all students. The Second Morrill Act of 1890 required that states choosing to open a second land-grant institution to serve Black students, provide an equitable distribution of funds between their 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions.
Tennessee State University, the 1890 land-grant institution in your state, while producing extraordinary graduates that contribute greatly to the state’s economy and the fabric of our nation, has not been able to advance in ways that are on par with The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the original Morrill Act of 1862 land-grant institution in your state, in large part due to unbalanced funding.
The longstanding and ongoing underinvestment in Tennessee State University disadvantages the students. faculty, and community that the institution serves. Furthermore. it may contribute to a lack of economic activity that would ultimately benefit Tennessee. It is our hope that we can work together to make this institution whole after decades of being underfunded.
Using readily available data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Survey (lPEDS) that ranges from 1987 to 2020. we calculated the amount that these institutions would have received if their state funding per student were equal to that of 1862 institutions. Unequitable funding of the l890 institution in your state has caused a severe financial gap, in the last 30 years alone. an additional $2,147,784,704 would have been available for the university. These funds could have supported infrastructure and student services and would have better positioned the university to compete for research grants. Tennessee State University has been able to make remarkable strides and would be much stronger and better positioned to serve its students. your state. and the nation if made whole with respect to this funding gap.
In recent years. some states have begun addressing this issue. In some instances. legislatures have provided significant state allocations. In others. students and alumni have formed coalitions to pursue court orders that ultimately required states to allocate remedial funding.
This is a situation that clearly predates all of us. However, it is a problem that we can work together to solve. In fact. it is our hope that we can collaborate to avoid burdensome and costly litigation that has occurred in several states.
Given the large amount of state funding that is owed to Tennessee State University, it would be ambitious to address the funding disparity over the course of several years in the state budget. It might very well be your desire to do so, which we wholeheartedly support. Yet. if an ambitious timetable is not a possibility, we suggest a combination of a substantial state allocation toward the 1890 deficit combined with a forward-looking budget commitment for a two-to-one match of federal land-grant funding for these institutions in order to bring parity to funding levels.
We want to make abundantly clear that it is not necessary to reduce funding to other institutions, nor make a reduction in general fund allocations to Tennessee State University in addressing these disparities.
We are at an inflection point that will determine our place in the world as leaders. We need to solidify our country as the top producer of talent and innovation – demonstrating to the global community that nothing can beat American ingenuity. The state that serves as our nation’s economic engine for the next generation is sure to be one that fully realizes all its assets and is committed to ensuring that opportunity is equally distributed. Given the career opportunities that will be available due to recent bipartisan federal investments for key industries, strengthening these universities to provide tomorrow·s workforce vill enhance your state’s economic viability.
The Departments of Education and Agriculture working with your state budget office, would welcome hosting a workshop to fully examine the funding data that we shared in this letter.
We are committed to working with you to bring balance to the state investments in institutions that have been severely underfunded through the years.
Miguel Cardona, Ed.D. U.S. Secretary of Education
Thomas J. Vilsack U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
