Washington, DC, Sept. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This morning, the Department of Education redirected $435 million of previous discretionary funding to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
When added to the existing appropriations approved by Congress for HBCUs, the total award now stands at $1.38 billion for fiscal year 2025, a 48% increase over the previous amount.
This funding is added to the following programs: the Strengthening HBCUs program, the Strengthening historically black graduate institutions program, and the HBCU master’s degree program. UNCF supports reprogramming the funding.
“This additional funding is nothing short of a godsend for HBCUs,” said Lodriguez V. Murray, UNCF’s senior vice president of public policy and government affairs. “We are grateful to have worked with the Trump Administration, Secretary McMahon, and her Department of Education team in achieving this one-time infusion of grant funding.”
“When President Trump released his executive order for HBCUs during his first 100 days of this term,” Murray elaborated, “many said that it did not produce funding. That is no longer the case. His order called for strengthening HBCUs by adding fiscal stability. These funds will begin that process. However, no one should be confused: HBCUs are currently and have been underfunded since their inception. While we are grateful for these funds, we are still under-resourced. With the right investment and partners, our past, and present, does not have be our future. We hope the private sector will see this as a prime opportunity to invest in our going enterprise.”
“This funding mechanism, called ‘Title III,’ is considered the most essential out of all federal grants for HBCUs,” continued Murray. “To nearly double that funding will have unprecedented positive impacts on our institutions this year. The additional funding will be used for acquiring property, construction, campus maintenance, laboratory equipment, faculty support, student services and more as authorized by the Higher Education Act.”
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About UNCF
UNCF is one of the nation’s largest and most effective supporters of higher education and serves as a leading advocate for college-bound students. Since its founding in 1944, UNCF has raised more than $6 billion to support students' access to higher education, provide scholarships and strengthen historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Each year, UNCF awards more than 11,000 scholarships totaling more than $62 million. The scholarships support students attending more than 600 US-based colleges and universities including 37 UNCF-member HBCUs. Through its efforts, UNCF has helped generations of students to get to and through college. We believe a college education plays a vital role in fortifying the pipeline of leaders and professionals who contribute to the advancement of our society. Our logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and our widely recognized trademark is, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Instagram.
Roy Betts UNCF 240.703.3384 roy.betts@uncf.org
