The growing Latino population is directly affecting institutions of higher education. Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), whose stated missions do not specifically address Latinos, are becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). As HSIs continue to emerge across the country, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are also responding to demographic shifts, especially in Texas. Although their historic mission focuses on educating African Americans, some Texas HBCU presidents and administrators maintain that their supportive campus environment could serve as a possible opportunity for Latino student success. HBCU outreach efforts offer a variety of areas for further investigation, but the intent of this study was to examine the first, critical year and perceptions of sense of belonging. Furthermore, since Mexican Americans represent the majority of Latinos in Texas, indeed the country, this qualitative study specifically focused on the first-year experiences of Mexican Americans in a Texas HBCU. The primary methods for data collection included two semi-structured one-on-one interviews, a student questionnaire, campus observations, and analytic memos. Thus, the current study sought to fully document the first-year experience and perceptions of sense of belonging as recounted by second- to fifth-year Mexican American students enrolled in a Texas HBCU. / text

This study uses a causal modeling approach based on structural equation modeling to examine specific hypotheses regarding the relation among ethnic identity, its components, and various mental health outcomes in African American emerging adults. Data was provided by college students at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Results did not support a relation between ethnic identity components and adverse mental health. Ethnic identity components were related to positive mental health outcomes; however, this relation differed between gender groups. Among females, the ethnic identity component traditionally labeled ethnic commitment significantly predicted both positive mental health outcomes included in this study. Among males, only life satisfaction was predicted by ethnic identity, and this relation appeared to depend on the component of ethnic identity traditionally labeled ethnic exploration. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the current understanding of ethnic identity and its development among African American emerging adults.

Exploration of Factors Affecting Success of Undergraduate Engineering Majors at a Historically Black University. Egheosa P. Igbinoba, 2015: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler School of Education. ERIC Descriptors: STEM Education, African American Achievement, Higher Education, Black Colleges, Engineering Education. Blacks are underrepresented amongst persons who earn college degrees in the United States and Black males attend and complete college at a lower rate than Black females (Toldson, Fry Brown, & Sutton, 2009). According to Toldson et al. (2009), this quandary may be attributed to Black males’ apathy toward education in general, waning support and ideological challenges toward Pell Grants and affirmative action, cultural incompetency on the part of the 90% White, ethnic makeup of the U.S. teaching force, and the relatively high numbers of Black males who are held back in school. In spite of the dismal statistics regarding Black male academic achievement and matriculation, there are those Black males who do participate in postsecondary education. While many studies have highlighted reasons that Black males do not achieve success in attending and persisting through college, few have adopted the anti-deficit research framework suggested by Harper (2010), identifying reasons Black males do persist in higher education. Although science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers are identified as those most imperative to the economic competitiveness of the United States, few studies have concentrated solely on engineering majors and fewer, if any, solely on Black male engineering majors at an historically Black college and university. The aim of this study was to address an apparent gap in the literature and invoke theories for recruitment, retention, and success of Black males in engineering degree programs by employing an anti-deficit achievement framework for research of students of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Data garnered from the study included insight into participants’ definitions of success, precollege experiences, factors contributing to the persistence during undergraduate study, and perceptions of attending a historically Black college and university versus a primarily White institution.

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to investigate the motivational factors that lead to faculty giving to their employing institutions. Giving practices in relation to the life experiences and independent influences of faculty members who were employed at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were examined. In addition this study contributes to the limited amount of literature provided on HBCUs institutional advancement offices as well as the effectiveness of their solicitation efforts as perceived by faculty members employed at the colleges and universities. Three research questions were considered in this study. First, what life experiences contribute to the predisposition of faculty donors in giving to their institutions? Second, what intrinsic motivational elements influence faculty donors to give to their employing institutions? Third, how are the strategies used to solicit funding from faculty related to giving? Basic interpretive qualitative methodology was used to analyze the data gathered from the research participants. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven faculty members employed at HBCUs in the southern region of the United States. It was determined that faculty members attribute their giving practices to many of their life experiences. Religious involvement, childhood experiences, and family history, were all discussed by faculty members as being instrumental to their giving habits. Participants also discussed the sense of community that is established at HBCUs as being inspirational in determining whether or not they gave of their time, talent, or financial resources. Responses to open-ended questions about the effectiveness of institutional advancement offices provided additional qualitative data that could be used by HBCUs to increase the amount of annual giving to the university.

It is believed that purposefully constructed learning communities can have academic, social, and motivational advantages for its participants. In an effort to improve graduation and retention of students, some HBCUs have sought new ways to construct learning environments that are conducive to the learning styles of students of color. This study sought to investigate the impact of a learning community on pre-college level students standardized test scores and final grades. The Repeated Measures One-Way ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference in COMPASS score change between groups with the comparison group demonstrating a greater change than did the learning community group. In addition, Analysis of Covariance test was used to answer the research question regarding differences in final grades between the two groups. After adjusting for the COMPASS pre-test, there was no difference in final grades between groups. Using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), a Likert-type scale based on the Eccles et al. (1983) expectancy-value motivational model, three components of students motivation were investigated: task value, extrinsic value, and test anxiety. The Independent Samples t-Test was used to compare the means. There was a statistically significant mean difference in extrinsic value with the students enrolled in traditionally taught pre-college level English courses demonstrating more extrinsic motivation. There was a statistically significant mean difference in task value with students enrolled in the learning community demonstrating higher task value than the comparison group. Finally, there was a statistically significant mean difference in affect with students in the learning community group demonstrating more test anxiety. Conclusions and recommendations were presented for future research.

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The persistent paucity of endowment monies and other funds and an attempt to minimize operating costs have led to a series of interinstitutional cooperative efforts between many historically black colleges in Texas and other institutions of higher learning. The Texas Association of Developing Colleges (TADC) is a multi-service consortium composed of Huston-Tillotson College, Jarvis Christian College, Paul Quinn College, Texas College, and Wiley College which are privately supported and church-related liberal arts colleges. The primary focus of the TADC is interinstitutional cooperation. Some general and specific problems and weaknesses endemic to many small private colleges, especially to small black private colleges, have been identified through analyses, interpretations, and inferences from a variety of data sources. The potential opportunity and success for strengthening these colleges and for solving some of their problems through self-effort, through additional support from external, nongovernmental sources, and through meaningful forms of interinstitutional cooperation are discussed and appear to be encouraging. Interinstitutional cooperation is already acceptable and functional among these five colleges through their participation in the Texas Association of Developing Colleges, and it is apparent that these five colleges, individually and collectively, have had commendable successes in meeting many of their goals and objectives through such arrangements. Basically, the recommendations made in this study call for significant forms and types of interinstitutional cooperation among these colleges in a formalized manner under the aegis of the Texas Association of Developing Colleges.

This dissertation focuses on the African American Baptist church as a vital architect of black higher education in Kentucky. In keeping with the historiography of black education, my research focuses on the often-forgotten component of religion and its impact on the development of post-secondary education. More specifically, my work explores the dynamics of race, class and gender in shaping the origins of black higher learning institutions in the state. I contend that Kentucky was home to a growing and progressive African American middle class who sought racial uplift to solve the “negro problem" through education. I also reveal that African American religious leaders in Kentucky served as examples for other African Americans who were promoting black higher education during the period of segregation. As a border state, Kentucky offers a unique opportunity to examine the educational challenges and opportunities African Americans faced during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Kentucky was home to one of the few African American Baptist controlled institutions in the nation, Simmons College. Therefore, this study offers historians an expanded lens for analyzing African American agency in developing higher learning initiatives while combating racial inequality in a state with a reputation for poorly funding public education.

This qualitative inquiry explored the ways in which US-born, Black faculty member participants in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) interact with the National Science Foundation (NSF). Eight Black HBCU STEM faculty members with a range of involvement in NSF-related activities were individually interviewed. Topics of discussion with participants included their prior experiences with NSF, their understanding of the merit review process, and their understanding of their personal and institutional relationships with NSF and the STEM community. Two broad findings emerged from the conversations. The first was that issues of communities and social identity were important to the participants’ work as research scientists. Participants prioritized advancing people and communities over advancing the knowledge of ambiguous, disembodied scientific disciplines, and some participants were motivated by interests in social justice. However, participants maintained strong identities as scientists and the discussions provided no evidence that other social factors influenced their application of the scientific method. The second major finding dealt with the role participants perceived their institutions playing in their involvement with NSF. All participants described challenges associated with pursuing research in HBCU environments and, in some cases, the institutional challenges served as the motivation for participants’ projects, with varying consequences. Finally, this study developed and refined a theoretical framework for explaining the underrepresentation of HBCUs in NSF funding streams. In developing this framework, a brief history of the origination of HBCUs, NSF, and the NSF merit review process is presented.