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Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have distinguished themselves over the past two years in the face of uncertainty and difficulty. They innovated to embrace remote learning and redirected funds to provide their students with much-needed support. And they received an outpouring of funding; the federal government has allocated more than $6.5 billion to HBCUs over the past two years, and private donors have significantly stepped up their giving. As a result, HBCUs have gained a renewed sense of optimism and hard-won resilience.That said, the structural fiscal challenges HBCUs faced before the pandemic remain. To gain a better understanding of their needs, we surveyed our member institutions. The findings presented in this report make a compelling case for increased funding to support the long-standing needs of HBCUs and to enable these institutions to fulfill their missions.

The HBCU Effect™ research series seeks to understand, validate and promote the success of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to develop a counter-narrative that fully illustrates the value and competitiveness of our institutions. By uncovering HBCU truth through data and research, the HBCU Effect™ will illuminate how HBCUs yield a high return on investment by equipping their students, in particular first-generation students, with resources to close education and wealth gaps—transforming generations.HBCUs are top producers of Black STEM graduates, Black medical doctors, veterinarians, and graduate low-income students at higher rates than PWIs (Lee & Keys, 2013; Richards & Awokoya, 2012), while their students also report greater academic and social gains. Yet, limited data exist regarding workforce outcomes for Black HBCU alumni. This mixed-methods study adds to UNCF's ongoing effort to create a counter-narrative through our HBCU Effect™ research agenda. This brief, consisting of our early quantitative findings, and the collective study adds to our knowledge of the HBCU Effect™ by addressing gaps in knowledge about workforce outcomes at HBCUs, and how social experiences and networks affect the academic and workforce experiences of Black HBCU alumni.