The HBCU Campaign Fund (HCF) expresses deep concern and condemns the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) Board of Trustees’ decision to accept a framework for a new performance-based funding formula for the state’s public universities. While accountability and student success are important goals, funding models that rely heavily on performance metrics often fail to account for the historical inequities, resource disparities, and unique missions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Mississippi public HBCUs — Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University — have long served as engines of educational opportunity, workforce development, and economic mobility for students who are often overlooked by traditional higher education systems. These institutions disproportionately enroll first-generation, low-income, and underserved students while operating with fewer resources than many of their peer institutions. Any funding model that prioritizes outcomes without adequately accounting for institutional mission and historic underfunding risks widening existing inequities rather than closing them.

HCF believes that excellence should be rewarded, but equity must be protected. Funding formulas should recognize not only outcomes, but also the realities institutions face in producing those outcomes. HBCUs should not be penalized for fulfilling for their historic mission of opening doors for opportunity to students whom other institutions may not serve.

”Mississippi HBCUs have consistently delivered transformational outcomes despite generations of underinvestment and unequal treatment. A funding formula that fails to acknowledge those realities risks institutionalizing inequity under the guise of accountability. We urge state leaders and the IHL Board of Trustees to ensure that any performance-based funding model includes meaningful equity safeguard, mission-sensitive metrics, and protections that strengthen — not weaken — the state’s HBCUs. The future of educational opportunity in Mississippi depends on it.”

— Demetrius Johnson, Jr., Founder, President & CEO, HCF

As discussion continue regarding the implementation of the framework, HCF calls upon policymakers, higher education leaders, alumni, students, and advocates to remain engaged in the process and to champion policies that promote both accountability and equity. Mississippi HBCUs are not only viral to the state’s higher education ecosystem — they are indispensable to its economic future and the advancement of educational opportunity for all.

About the HBCU Campaign Fund
The HBCU Campaign Fund (HCF) is an educational non-profit and advocacy organization dedicated to supporting HBCUs and MSIs. Founded in 2012, its core mission focuses on raising funds for student scholarships, developing campus programming, and advocating for higher education equity. For more information, visit www.hbcucampaignfund.org.

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