University Business: Black College Leaders Meet In Atlanta To Discuss Challenges

As American colleges and universities gear up to meet a presidential goal to deepen the nation's pool of college grads, historically black institutions face extra pressure from threats to the financial support that many of their students depend on, the presidents of some colleges said Thursday.

About 100 presidents of historically black colleges are meeting in Atlanta and will discuss their role in President Barack Obama's call for America to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

Meanwhile, Pell Grants are under fire as some members of Congress look at cutting such programs to trim the budget. Many minority students depend on the needs-based grants to stay in school.

To meet the president's goal, John Wilson, executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, says the country will need to produce about 8 million more graduates -- 2 million of whom need to be African-American, and 200,000 from historically black colleges.

University Business: Black College Leaders Meet In Atlanta To Discuss Challenges