PHOTO | TROY HULL

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona participated in a roundtable discussion Monday at Johnson C. Smith University as part of a tour of Charlotte schools. Cardona pledged to help historically Black colleges and universities with infrastructure investment and student support.

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona understands the value of historically Black colleges and challenges they face.

Cardona toured Johnson C. Smith University Monday and participated in a roundtable with students, JCSU President Clarence Armbrister and U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, founder of the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus. North Carolina has 10 accredited HBCUs – the most of any state – ranging from publicly-funded North Carolina A&T State University, the nation’s largest by enrollment, to Shaw University in Raleigh, one of the state’s five private HBCUs and the South’s oldest Black college.

In an interview with The Post, Cardona talked about the contributions of HBCUs to American education, federal efforts to improve their infrastructure and plans to reduce student debt, which disproportionately hinders lower-income Black borrowers. Answers and questions are edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: In terms of historically black colleges, how much knowledge or background do you have with prior to becoming secretary and have you had to study up on them a little bit since becoming secretary?

MC: I visited at least a couple, and since becoming secretary and I can sense and feel the importance that they have across the country. I have had some [interaction] as a former commissioner of education in Connecticut. I have had some work with them mostly with regards to teacher recruitment, because we recognize there in Connecticut, the value of HBCUs across the country.

HBCUs historically have had to do more with less, so it’s really important as we build back better that we support our HBCUs across the country, making sure that we provide them the support because they’re supporting our country. I recently learned that 50% of the black dentists across the country come from HBCUs and 80% of the black judges have studied at HBCUs, so their contribution is tremendous. It’s really important that we support them.

Q: When you mention building back better, because HBCUs have historically been underfunded, not just from the federal side, but also states, what can be done at the federal level to get them not only to a sustainable level now, but also for the future?

MC: That's an important question and it’s important work ahead. When we talk about building that better we shouldn't be aiming to go back to how things were before. So not only is the $600 million investment to HBCUs is critical to make sure that we’re helping them help their students but also with the recruiting and retaining. The pandemic affected them disproportionately, unfortunately.

I know many HBCUs are now wondering about if their students are going to return, so it’s important that we support them there, but also continue with the messaging that it's important that states do their part as well. These institutions are critically important. Being here today is demonstrating our commitment to making sure we're lifting up their stories and their successes so that post pandemic that could be stronger than ever.

Q: There’s that line between the federal government and state governments and because most of the HBCUs are in the South, which are not necessarily the most liberal places in America. What, if anything, can the federal government do to encourage states that have HBCUs to fund their fair share because these schools, historically, have not been supported by states to the level that predominantly white schools have?

MC: You know visibility matters, so being here today, having conversations with the President [Joe Biden] and having conversations with our elected leaders that represent HBCUs, that’s critically important. And I’ll tell you in the conversations I’ve had with my colleagues in the Senate and in the House, their support for HBCUs is pronounced very clear and I think … they recognize the importance of supporting these institutions for what they provide for our country. And because post-pandemic they’ve been hit harder than most others.

Q: There’s an ongoing problem that many students at HBCUs face – student debt. What, if anything, can be done to help eliminate student debt which, is a long-term detriment to building credit or making long-term investments such as buying a home?

MC: We know that black borrowers are disproportionately affected by this issue. So, we're prioritizing short term, long term. Long term, we’re prioritizing a review of everything that we’re doing to provide targeted loan relief at Public Service Loan Forgiveness-Borrower Defense we’re really doubling down on our efforts and our urgency around those areas, so we don't get to these positions.

We’re also looking at return on investment in colleges. We can’t have folks graduating $200,000 in debt, and then working for $25,000 a year. That just doesn’t make sense. But in the short term, I think, you know the Build Back Better agenda that the president has with the American Families Plan aims to add $1,400 to Pell Grants and the college where I'm sitting right now, Johnson C. Smith University, three out of four students benefit from the Pell Grant. So, an increase in Pell Grants would help.

These are the types of things that we’re doing to help alleviate loan debt, but also, we’re working really hard at the agencies to stop the bleeding, to make sure that the practices, the strategies that are there that are intended to prevent students from going into … crippling debt. We have to do better with those and we're working really hard to make sure that that happens.

Q: Would loan forgiveness be part of that equation?

MC: We’re continuing those conversations with the legal team at the Department [of Education] and the Department of Justice and the White House, and we're going to continue those conversations. That’s part of the conversation, but so are some of the other issues that are not given as much attention like ensuring that the programs that we have are working for our borrowers. Currently right now I question whether they are. We have to make sure that they’re working for our borrowers.

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