The Challenges And Successes Of Department Governance: A Look At HBCU Journalism And Mass Communications Unit Administrators

Abstract

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are facing challenges to their continued existence on several fronts. One is fiscally, as federal funding for education has been cut and the responsibility for paying for higher education has been levied on students and parents. Another challenge is the amount of endowment dollars available to them and lastly, there are questions today as to if HBCUs are still needed in a society that has allowed African-Americans to enroll in Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Administrators of the 55 Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) units at HBCUs have to lead with an eye on tradition while dealing with current financial issues. The administrators are faced with the personal challenge of tenuous term limits - served at the discretion of higher administrators - and teaching two or three classes. They work under larger units and have minimal authority over budgets, hiring, or strategic planning for their units. Their faculty work full course loads and few have tenure. How do they keep the institutions mission and move to the future of possible accreditation?