PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Some Maryland lawmakers are working to address what they call a long-standing funding disparity impacting historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), including the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).
The proposed legislation, introduced by Delegate Karen Toles of Prince George’s County, aims to make up for a funding shortfall that has left many HBCU campuses in need of repairs and upgrades. If passed, UMES would receive $5 million annually in state funding for the next 90 years.
UMES President Dr. Heidi Anderson said the lack of funding has contributed to deteriorating facilities on campus, including Nuttle Hall, which is currently boarded up and closed to students and staff, and has been since 2016.
“Not having that funding in hand makes it such that our buildings don’t have the funding to do the repairs that are needed,” Anderson said. “So the buildings fall into disarray.”
Anderson added that the additional funding would not only improve facilities but also benefit students and the surrounding community.
“So by not having that funding, it impacts the quality of the facilities, especially that the students would receive,” she said. “And more importantly, when our students go out, it impacts the community because they would not have the ability to do some of the things that they would need to go into the community and have a major impact.”
The funding proposal comes as Maryland faces a $3 billion budget deficit.
UMES is one of nearly two dozen HBCUs established in the late 1800s that did not receive equal funding compared to predominantly white institutions. In 2023, the Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture acknowledged the historical funding gap and urged states to take corrective action.
“President Biden and the USDA figured out there was some funding that was not given. It was not equal,” Toles said. “Let’s try to make this whole and ask states to do this," Del. Toles told WBOC.
The proposed funding now heads to lawmakers in Annapolis for consideration.