This week, Michael L. Lomax, the president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), sent an email to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the organization.

In the email, he celebrated the legacy of the communities and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Lomax highlighted the 101 accredited HBCUs in 19 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Even though HBCUs only make up 3% of higher education institutions in the country, they educate 10% of all Black college students. The HBCU student population is currently over 75% Black.

According to the U.S. Department of Education in 2019, these institutions are responsible for 19% of degrees earned by Black students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Furthermore, HBCUs account for 80% of Black judges, 50% of Black doctors, and 50% of Black lawyers.

Lomax urged everyone to donate to UNCF during Black History Month to support the 37 member HBCUs and help educate students with significant financial challenges in achieving college-level performance.

This week, the BEYA STEM Conference will hold its annual HBCU Engineering Deans Recognition event.

The consortium of 16 deans of the ABET-accredited Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) engineering schools is responsible for producing over one-third of the Black engineers who graduate each year.

These engineers are essential to creating and sustaining the diverse workforce that the government and industry need to compete in a global economy.

For this reason, the BEYA Community includes a venue that allows the HBCU engineering deans to collaborate with industry leaders and receive the feedback and support they need.

During the conference, HBCU engineering deans conduct their annual meeting, host a roundtable with industry leaders, showcase the research activity on their campuses, lead seminars, acknowledge their supporters, present awards, and participate in meetings with their organization, Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering (AMIE) leaders who support them.