 HPC Dodgers radio welcome back. I'm your host Jared Carter We are continuing our coronavirus coverage with the best and brightest from the history of black college University Universe of sorts we continue that coverage with the distinguished president of Virginia State University Dr. McCulloch Abdullah Who who made headlines? Last week. That's why he's on video today With a letter a significant letter written to members of the Education Labor Committees of the House and Senate in the US Congress Asking for substantial Investments in HBC use as part of the nation's Coronavirus response so first brother bill to thank you as usual for the time Tell us a little bit about the motivation for that letter the data gathering that you had to do and how you were able As as leadership on the 1890 council of presidents to kind of galvanized ideas around hey We got to make this ask and we got to do it now Right well, thank you first for kind of outlining it came from the council the executive committee of the council of 1890 presidents 19 of the land grant HBCU land grant institutions in the country and I have the pleasure this year of serving as the chair of that executive committee and Me and my colleagues we had an emergency meeting And I got to give my hats off to all of the presidents of the 1890 institutions are particularly Heidi Anderson at UMES Tony Allen Adele where state as any Jenkins West Virginia State University Paul Jones, you know and and all of them, but everybody who's who's on the call who really Sat down and started to think about how can we start to advance the mission of HBC's were more importantly the mission of 1890s Forward and how can we lean on the strengths that we had right and I believe one of the strengths that we have is The 1890 land grant institutions have been solving regional and national needs through teaching research and extension For now almost a hundred over a hundred years And so how can we use that expertise use that leadership to be able to address a very serious problem? And to me the most serious problem is that this corona virus COVID-19 is impacting our community in ways There's far beyond how it impacts the community and the health related risk the economic risk We need our HBCU's front and center Making sure that in this pandemic and in the next that African-Americans don't take the brunt of the pandemic For those who it didn't see it the coverage in the HBCU digest Outline some of the things that you're hoping that Congress will support and and the trajectory will provide not just for the corona virus response But what you kind of visualize for the weeks and months the years after we come out of this thing Sure sure and it was geared towards how do we move forward after the COVID? Emergency is over so the first thing is really for the students is an incredible increase In the Pella ward in the in the letter It was tripling the Pella ward why to make sure that young people are in and young at heart People who don't have the means are incentivized in the in the climate after COVID to come back to college So that should be the real stimulus that we want them to come to college to not pick up debt And to be able to move forward in the new economy I firmly believe that it right now the economic impact in our community is is heavy Many of our students are losing the part-time jobs that they were using to help cover the balance on many of their parents Are some of the first who have lost their jobs in the first economic wave of unemployment? And so how do we make sure that the best and brightest who might not have had the means before? But they were close. It may not be as close as they were. How do we provide a substantial investment in them so that they can go to college? So that was number one Number two is is increasing the technology infrastructure to all of our HBCs How do we make sure that as we have been the nation's leader in providing opportunities four-year? Education opportunities for students. How do we remain that leader in a world that will need that leadership even more in a technology way? And then last but certainly not least again That's this is the project I was talking about before is that our universities our 1890 land-grant institutions have led the way in providing teaching research and extension in agriculture solving regional and national needs across this country for over a hundred years and We have the expertise to do that in other areas as well And if our 1890s our land-grant institutions lead the way in making sure that we address health disparities Involving our other HBCU partners I think that was something that was under under publicized in the letter But we want to make sure that we involve all the public and private institutions in that effort as well We need to make a substantial Impact on making sure the health disparities that the health disparities that challenge us don't end up killing us in this country That's the interesting thing and we were talking before we came on about the complexity of trying to come back and everybody's trying to come Everybody's saying you know we're sick of being in the house and the economy slowed down and there are no jobs and this is rough, but When you think about coming out of it and training those those new professionals in those fields Do you think that there is a concern that to say we don't ever want a pandemic again? That there is a risk of the country or HBCU's or higher education saying alright Everybody looked that way and go become an epidemiologist or everybody looked that way And go you know becoming an economist or something like that. And do you think that that's possible for HBCU's? That they will go with that shift. I Think we'll have to go with this. I think the idea none of us wants to see a pandemic again. That's clear, right? I think this is the disruption to our lives Just love ones Being impacted their health is something that none of us want to see again But we have to be on the forefront of knowing that it will come back This is a part of our new existence And that HBCU's have to lead the way to make sure that the African-American community is protected We have to do for ourselves one of the things I've been saying is that you know COVID COVID-19 does not know race ethnicity or income But our health care system does know race ethnicity and income and the challenges that we face in this country from health disparities Is it from the disease? It is from how we choose to to to to move To move our medical infrastructure and to help those who who needed most and so we've got a we've got to step into that gap To make sure that if another pandemic comes that it doesn't do the same thing that COVID-19 is doing A couple of days ago. I read an article in Richmond. We're in Petersburg right outside of Richmond But in Richmond a hundred percent of the people who have died from the corona virus have been African-American And so what are we going to do about that? And that and that was the impetus of how me and my colleague kind of sat around and thought about it Said what can we do to help? What can the 1890s do to help? What can HBCUs do to help? You keep hearing all of these reports about and surveys from Perspective students saying, you know, I paid a down payment I was ready to go to school and now I'm not sure if I'm gonna go or you know As you mentioned mom and dad or mom or dad lost a job. I'm not sure if I can afford to go Is it the responsibility of the HBCU because we're already at the fringes before this thing started a lot of us Is it a responsibility for the HBCU to figure out how to make that possible for the students? Or is it that we are ready to embrace a student that even comes close to Having some of the resources to be there and then just say get in here. We'll we'll take care of the rest later Well, I think that there there are always to me, there's that there are five Groups that are responsible for making sure that that are underrepresented or educated, right? So it's the students and their parents is one The universities we have a responsibility The state government federal government and philanthropy Private philanthropy I believe in this particular gap as the united states of america is looking to Use its resources to provide stimulus in different areas to make sure that the economy Doesn't fall apart that in that way that it must also provide stimulus to make sure that the young people who are the most Difficult means that they have access to higher education. So I believe that we play as a difficult role Right, we've got to do everything we can to make sure that we embrace and bring back As many of our of our young people as we can but at the same time We can't let state local government Philanthropy off the hook to make sure that they are also investing in what is the next generation of citizens in the united states of america. So We have a healthy responsibility But we also want to be a part of the forefront to make sure that no one Abandons abandons our kids In a time when we need when they need it most one of the things um I think i'm going to start uh asking the presidents and you're going to be the second one to catch this hell Okay, go ahead The hbc was a is a is a unique blend of and most colleges but more so ours of culture And then infrastructure operational infrastructure and integrity right and this this virus is going to impact a lot of that What we do as a people what we do as institutions are going to be forever changed or at least changed for a long time right if you think about The two the two buckets that uh, you know, virginia state operates on a virginia state culture and virginia state operations Which one out of those two buckets are the two items that keep you up at night and say You know shoot man. I don't I don't know what this is going to look like, you know in a year or two Oh, wow. Wow. No, I think this is the great disruptive, right? So I think the easy answer is it all keeps me up I think the challenge is how do we as leaders? Not just lead through this crisis, but Do the best we can to predict what the world will look like after so that we can prepare our universities For that world, right? So I don't I don't believe that any of our institutions HBC use pwis The movie theater restaurants I don't believe any of the institutions that currently exist will be the same after kovat 19 And then it's imperative on all of the leaders to try to make sure that they position Themselves and position their universities for the future Um One of the great quotes that I've heard is that you know, we're all in the same storm, right? But we're not all in the same boat, right? And so even though the all the other universities we're all thinking about some of the same things and how we Protect the resources from our institution and provide a legacy for the next 100 or so 150 years for our institutions Um, our hbc us are in a very different boat than some of the other institutions And our cultures are built around a a family environment that is very much face-to-face Um, it's very much an environment of love and an interaction together Uh, and we have a healthy challenge trying to figure out how we move forward in the near future And if we don't come back Fully face-to-face in the fall how we navigate forward in the fall As a different kind of hbcu without the traditional trappings of our universities Talk about the challenge of of trying to balance the the institution's interests as a business as a cultural center and The role to trying to come back with that of peter'sburg etric Of you know, the rva region of virginia at large because sometimes those interests are not all of the same And you only, you know, can can showcase expertise on all right. Here's my campus and here's my city So how do you how do you balance what you're hearing from? You know You know the governor's office and the health department's office versus what you know to be true What you know to be not true In etric and virginia state Oh You know, we are I am you know, I live in peter'sburg. We are in peter'sburg We are of peter'sburg We are of etric and thank you. Of course. I know you've got history here in and around virginia state So, you know etric in peter'sburg. You said all the right phrases. I love it I'm a son of virginia state. I just didn't go That's right. That's right. That's right. I mean, but we we are in the community and so the community is Some that's very important to us the ties that virginia state has to peter'sburg and to etric as you know They are not trivial ties. They are long lasting Long-form ties And and it and it means a lot to us As such, you know, we are as As committed to making sure that the community is healthy And that the community bounces back and we think the number one thing that has to happen in order for that to happen This virginia state has to be healthy and has to bounce back. So We are how should I say we are we are selfishly community driven We have to do what it takes to make sure that the vsu has a long and vibrant future In in and through this crisis In order to have an impact on the community the way we like to have an impact The the hbc presidents have a really um Tightening group I would imagine some people could see that you know If you pay attention on social media and things but you guys regularly communicate Um and bounce ideas and feedback off each other and support each other What's the what's the conversation been like amongst you guys now? Considering that some of us are rural campuses. Some of us are metropolitan. Some of us are land grants. Some of us are Our private some of us are church affiliated Some of us are not how do you how we what kind of feedback are you getting or what's the what's the mixing bowl? Like now when you when you share experiences and feedback When so many different interests are involved I'll tell you this much. I mean I I really appreciate my colleagues in time like this Um Again, there is some comfort knowing that everyone is in the same storm. You see the same things You're you're dealing with some of the same challenges of trying to make sure you keep students safe I try to make sure you keep your faculty and staff safe getting the work done while you're on campus The incredible job that our faculty and staff and and and students have done migrating to a remote instruction environment Uh cancelling commencement For our students So it has been a great camaraderie in knowing that myself and my colleagues are going through some of the same Challenges and issues, but again, as I said earlier We're all in the same storm, but we're not in the same boat. There are certainly some things that are different Across institutions. A lot of my friends are at private Uh, and they have a different kind of challenge than they say a state run Uh institution has and so we are supporting each other through this I don't know if I could make it without them And I would say the same for my virginia conference. We meet the council of presidents in virginia meets meets every week And that interaction and that camaraderie has also been very uplifting to me this is This is probably one of the biggest disruptors in higher education That we may ever see in our lifetime The idea that every single institution in the country went to remote instruction in less than a week Is incredible and phenomenal and what does it mean? For the future, right? So You raised a good point because You know Four months ago, we would have never have thought that We would have never have thought that, you know, some of these professors ain't going for that That's it, you know, we're we're thinking that but you know, it's weird how crisis can bring out the best in people But do you think that that establishes a new threshold? For expectations of the hbcu in terms of flexibility because a lot of people When they have critiques of our schools, they'll say they're very inflexible. They don't want to do Too much that's new. They don't want to do too many things that are innovative. Do you think this sets a new standard for people to say? Well, hell, yeah, they are pretty flexible. They can do what they want to do And does that when we come back does that does that invite a new level of scrutiny for institutional or president or four cabinet? You know, I'll say it the other way. I think necessity is certainly the mother of invention uh, and I think that This has created the kind of challenge That is an overall university challenge, right? This is a this is the kind of challenge that the faculty the staff students the alums Everybody can kind of rally around. It's a very simple and straightforward enemy that we're trying to fight Which is we're trying to keep everybody safe from the coronavirus Uh, and so it has allowed us, I think to be more flexible more in tune to work closer together It is in that way. There's a great silver lining in the in the Cooperation and collaboration that I've seen across campus by far. They're you're right They're folks who said they would never go and they're there and they're doing a great job at Now there are a lot of people who are doing things that they wouldn't believe that they would do Because the love for the students is real, right? And that's that's really what's been driving I think a lot of a lot of stuff but to your question Will it will it put more pressure on us to adapt and evolve? Yes But I think we're prepared for that because now we've seen it, right? I mean the institution has seen that if we want to do something that we have the ability to adapt and evolve And so I think it it puts more pressure on us, but also it's kind of exciting And then the final question and brother we we always appreciate you here, man Um, I think it's black men. We always, you know, hope for the best and prepare for the worst um What does what do we know what the worst looks like and we don't have to say it But what does the best look like for virginia state? What does a healthy Safe reopening look like or what does it even what does a timeline even look like? So let me say this first. We are at virginia state We are preparing for every single scenario. We want to open up face to face I want the students back on campus. Um, I miss them. I know they miss campus We want to have the the homecoming and all of the events and and and be Who we are with a better appreciation for it, right? Because we lost temporarily So we want to get it back and have a better appreciation But we're preparing for every eventuality. We don't know where we'll be in the fall We're preparing for everything. We're going to keep our plans plan a plan b plan c plan d And continue to collect data throughout the summer So that we can make the best decision the best health decision For our students. I will not put our young people at risk That's not I wouldn't I wouldn't be able to to live with myself with that happen So we're going to do everything we can to make sure everybody is safe and follow all of the rules The state rules and the federal rules to do that now to answer your question now I'm going to answer it a little differently. What's the best for virginia state? The when when this is over When the corona virus is gone and no one's worried about it anymore Everybody's enrollment is going to go up because everybody's going to want to get out of the house right Every football game is going to be packed and that's going to be the best homecoming that virginia state university ever had We'll probably have uh, three hundred and seventy five thousand people Right On campus, right? I mean because everybody will be tired of seeing each other on zoom and they'll want to see each other in person in person right and For me, that's the best That's the excitement. That's what I'm waiting. We don't know when we're going to get there. We don't we don't know if that's 2020 We don't know if that's 2021 But that day will happen and all of our campuses will be jumping and everybody will be back And it'll be a beautiful thing. And so I'm um I have a lot of hope that that's good. I don't know when it's going to happen But I know that it will and our job is to stay as As as safe as possible until then so that as much of as many of our campus community can experience that wonderful day