MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The president of Alabama State University has been appointed to a White House advisory board on historically Black colleges and universities.
President Joe Biden’s administration says ASU President Quinton Ross is among 18 people tapped to serve on the panel. Four other members also are presidents of historically Black schools.
The advisory board works with an initiative to improve and support historically Black institutions.
Ross, a former state legislator, is entering his fifth year at Alabama State, which is located in Montgomery.
“The work of the advisory board is extremely important to advancing the mission and vision of our institutions. I consider it an honor to serve the president in this capacity,” he said in a statement Friday.
Several HBCU presidents, the president of United Airlines and the first Black woman to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency are among Biden’s selections.
They will join Tony Allen, the president of Delaware State University, and Glenda Glover, the president of Tennessee State University, who are serving, respectively, as chairperson and vice chairperson of the board, which was established during the Carter administration.
Henson is a Washington, D.C., native who studied acting at Howard University, a historically Black school and the alma mater of Vice President Kamala Harris. Paul is a 12-time NBA All-Star with the Phoenix Suns and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Besides Ross, Allen and Glover, the presidents of four other HBCUs will also join the board. They are Virginia State University, Norfolk State University in Virginia, Prairie View A&M University in Texas and Dillard University in New Orleans.
Lisa Jackson, who became the EPA’s first Black administrator in the Obama administration, and United Airlines President Brett Hart will also join the board.
Biden also intends to appoint Paige Blake, a 20-year-old junior at Bowie State University, an HBCU in Maryland.
The White House said the administration has committed $5.8 billion in support to these historically Black colleges and universities through a combination of pandemic relief funding, grants and forgiving capital improvement debt.