RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The presidents of both of Raleigh’s HBCUs met with the city’s Economic Development and Innovation Commission to discuss ways their universities can get more funding from the city.
Dr. Paulette Dillard of Shaw University and Dr. Marcus Burgess of St. Augustine’s University met Tuesday afternoon inside City Hall to give an update on what the city has been doing over the past year to increase funding for schools. We discussed information. .
“Relationships are important. You can’t just walk out in the cold and ask for money,” Mayor Mary Ann Baldwin said. “That’s not going to work.”
At one point Dillard fired back. “I kiss babies, shake hands, and have a great relationship.”
The exchange between the president and city leaders comes as Dillard and Burgess urge city leaders and the local business community to use their own pockets to help fund the university. It happened in the middle of sight.
“We are in a fight for survival,” Burgess said. “Let’s stop joking.”
Just last week, a special accreditation committee was held in St. Augustine’s to see if the school had improved its accreditation challenges.
Meanwhile, Dillard once again highlighted the university’s ambitious Showyou District project, which he hopes will serve as an economic driver for the neighborhood.
Councilor Stormy Forte and other members of the committee agreed that this is a great starting point to help the university reach its goals.
“Sometimes people think we’re always reaching out and begging for money,” Dillard added. “Think of us as a partner in making this more fair.”
Baldwin and the president agreed that both schools own valuable land that would be beneficial to all parties. In fact, Burgess said the school has 105 acres of land, but only 20 percent is still in use.
“I think this land certainly has a lot of value to you and to us,” Baldwin told Burgess. “That’s my first step: how can we leverage these assets?”
Tuesday’s meeting comes after members of the University of St. Augustine’s Board of Trustees released details of a meeting that appears to have involved board member Mr. Burgess, several unnamed local business leaders, and the CEO of the Capitol Broadcasting Company. It took place a few months later. During the meeting, one person reportedly said, “Raleigh doesn’t need two HBCUs.” Representatives for Capitol Broadcasting Company did not respond to requests for comment at the time of initial reporting.
Asked about Tuesday’s meeting, Burgess said, “Both of our universities are strong in their own right. We have great alumni. We have great board members, great faculty and students. I would like to cooperate with these reasonable efforts.” . “However, the merger of these institutions has not yet proceeded.”
The committee successfully moved motions to advance land partnership agreements, ways to increase federal funding, and ways to work together to obtain grants. The motion will now go to City Council for a further vote.
“We’re very happy with what happened today. Of course we’re impatient. We want to go faster. And we want to progress more. But we’re moving forward and we’re excited to get there. “There are some initiatives that are going to move forward this Congress, and that gives us hope,” Dillard said.
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