“What looked like evil was really a blessing for our institutions,” he said. “We are letting students know that they don’t have to go where they are tolerated. You can come to Livingstone College, where you’ll be celebrated.”
Glasman said the enrollment surge is most pronounced at the “big public powerhouse HBCUs” but also extends to private institutions with strong academic programs and name recognition. She mentioned Howard, Spelman, Morehouse and Tuskegee in particular — all private and ranked among the nation’s elite HBCUs.
“I’ve interviewed a lot of people about this,” Glasman said. “I think it’s a combination of a variety of things. But definitely [students] feeling safer, feeling like they belong, feeling like people aren’t questioning whether or not they should be there.”
Along with surging enrollments, many HBCUs have also reported that first-year students are arriving with higher grade-point averages — an indication that they could have gone elsewhere.
Selah Miller, a first-year student at North Carolina Central, said she chose the Durham HBCU over several other schools, including High Point University.
The Charlotte native said she was drawn to NCCU’s family-like environment and commitment to community service.
“Growing up, I was in a predominantly white neighborhood, and I was always one of the few black girls in my school and in the friend groups,” said Miller, who grew up in Charlotte. “So just seeing more people like me … you can fit in here,” she said of N.C. Central.
Mikayla Drake, a junior at Winston-Salem State University, expressed similar sentiments about attending an HBCU.
“Coming to an HBCU and that cultural effect, I really feel like that grew me into the African woman that I am today,” she said. “I could be more comfortable in said community. Not saying I would be uncomfortable anywhere else, but I really feel like being around what I grew up with and what I am, I could grow more and be more confident in who I am culturally.”
Drake, who grew up in Winston-Salem, said she had a choice of colleges after leaving high school.
“I chose an HBCU only because I felt like I would thrive in that kind of environment better,” she said.
Here are the enrollment gains reported this academic year by some of North Carolina’s leading HBCUs.
Fayetteville State
Enrollment at Fayetteville State topped 7,700 students this fall, the highest ever. Since 2021, FSU has added more than 1,000 students and increased student retention from approximately 63% to 80.7% in five years.
