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What Comes Next For HBCUs And The Trump Administration

President Donald Trump looks toward Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, as he speaks during a workforce/apprenticeship discussion at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Friday, Aug. 11, 2017.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais
/
AP Photo - 2017
President Donald Trump looks toward Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, as he speaks during a workforce/apprenticeship discussion at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Friday, Aug. 11, 2017.

This week the Trump administration hosted an annual summit at the White House for leaders of historically black colleges and universities. The meeting follows an executive order signed in February that moved a federal initiative supporting HBCUs from the Department of Education into the White House. 

Reporter Adam Harris talks about the relationship between the Trump administration and HBCUs.

However this week’s summit was met with criticism from student groups, advocates and politicians like Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., who believe the White House has not done enough to support HBCUs since President Trump took office. Meanwhile Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has continued to receive pushback for her policies on school choice.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Adam Harris, reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education, about the summit this week and the relationship between the Trump administration and HBCUs. 

Copyright 2017 North Carolina Public Radio

Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.