Dive Brief:
- As Howard University mulls selling rights to its TV station's spectrum, the considerations go far beyond economics as WHUT is the only black-owned public TV station in the country.
- The New York Times reports the sale could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to Howard, which has struggled in recent years and could use the cash infusion to avoid further operational cuts and shore up the financial aid budget.
- But WHUT supporters are urging Howard to consider its responsibility to the majority-black population in Washington D.C. as well as students who gain learning opportunities from the station.
Dive Insight:
Many historically black colleges and universities are facing deeper financial troubles than their peer schools. In South Carolina and Maryland, pending lawsuits claim historical underfunding by states. The Maryland lawsuit has earned a judge's ruling affirming the idea that the state perpetuated segregation among its higher education institutions but HBCU advocates and the Maryland Higher Education Commission are nowhere near compromising on a path forward.
When the Department of Education released its list of schools under heightened cash monitoring, HBCUs were overrepresented. Howard is not on that list. The university's plan to sell its assets for short-term financial gain is certainly a strategy to overcome financial strain. Given the historical context, however, it is not so simple.