Langston president cautiously optimistic about future under Trump administration
As Langston University celebrates its 120th anniversary this week, President Kent Smith is cautiously optimistic about the institution’s future under the Trump administration.
Smith and 87 other presidents of historically black colleges and universities met last week with President Donald Trump and other officials in Washington, D.C., to advocate for HBCUs and request more funding.
Trump signed an executive order re-establishing the White House Initiative on HBCUs and vowed to make the institutions “an absolute priority.”
“We will pledge our support to you, your mission, and to our shared mission of bringing education and opportunity to all of our people,” Trump said.
The order moves the initiative from the Education Department to the White House, but does not include commitments for specific funding levels from federal grants and contracts the HBCU leaders sought.
“It’s a good start,” Smith said. “Now we have to do the real work with Congress to keep the strategy before them and get more funding.”
Smith said under previous administrations the executive director of the White House HBCU initiative reported through the secretary of education, not through the White House. HBCU presidents asked for the change to have a more direct pipeline to the president.
They expressed concern about Betsy DeVos, the new secretary of education, who called HBCUs “pioneers of school choice” during her remarks to them. HBCUs were founded in the late 1800s not to provide black Americans another choice, but their only choice due to segregation.
“There’s a lot to be desired there. There’s a lot to learn there,” Smith said of DeVos. “The jury is still out. We’ll see where she goes in terms of support for HBCUs.”
About 2,150 undergraduates are enrolled at Langston University, the only HBCU in Oklahoma. The university receives more than $39 million annually in federal funding to support student financial aid, research and grant activities.
“We receive far more monies from the federal government as an HBCU than we do from the state of Oklahoma,” Smith said.
Continued funding and increases in funding depend on Congress, he said.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, is a genuine supporter of Langston University, Smith said. “I believe we will see support from him,” he added.
Lankford has visited campus and “has helped us get in some doors that typically you have a little difficulty getting in,” Smith said. “It helps to have a U.S. Senator making an advanced call for you.”
Lankford addressed about 60 of the HBCU presidents during their trip to Washington and met one-on-one with Smith.
“Historically black colleges and universities play an important role in our nation’s higher education strategy and they provide powerful opportunities for many young people across America,” Lankford said.