DiversityInc - January/February 2009

UNCF

Closing the Education

Disparities Gap

Amid the current national economic crisis,

UNCF’s mission is more relevant than ever for creating tomorrow’s leaders.

Martin Luther King Jr.; Brown University President Dr. Ruth Simmons; former

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman; Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson.

Despite their successes in disparate fields, all of these leaders are alumni of colleges that are members of UNCF-the United Negro College Fund, the nation’s largest and most effective higher-education assistance organization for racial/ ethnically diverse students. Today, when a college degree is what a high-school diploma was to previous generations, UNCF’s mission has never been more relevant—and critical—for creating tomorrow’s leaders.

UNCF lives up to the value expressed in its well-recognized motto—“A mind is a terrible thing to waste”^®—by providing scholarship support to 8,000 students at 900 colleges across the country each year and operating funds to 39 member Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). For most of these students, the dream of walking in the footsteps of Dr. Simmons, Secretary Herman, Samuel L. Jackson or even Dr. King would be out of reach without UNCF’s help. A full 60 percent of students supported by the organization are the first in their families to attend college; 62 percent are from families with annual incomes of less than $25,000.

“When UNCF was founded, the expectation that the nation held for African Americans in terms of education were different than those we have today. Their opportunities were separate and certainly not as expansive,” says Dr. Michael L. Lomax, UNCF’s president and CEO. “Today, diversity is valued quite differently. The expectations for African Americans are the same as for anyone wanting to succeed: If you prepare yourself fully, get a quality education and become highly skilled, you can play an important role in our economy and in our nation.”

Thanks to UNCF’s support for students and colleges, those roles reach from the boardroom to the operating room to the research lab, changing as the workplace evolves. Over the past 30 years, as corporate America has expanded opportunities for traditionally underrepresented groups, more are preparing for careers in companies with the expectation of greater leadership roles.

In addition to undergraduate coursework, they gain valuable career experience through internships and earn MBAs. UNCF leaders have also witnessed an increased interest in entrepreneurship among underrepresented students who attend UNCF member schools and receive UNCF scholarships. At many UNCF schools, business is the principal major.