that a lot of republicans actually think that obamacare is more than romney about them. and yet i'm sure there isn't a single person in this room who wakes up in the morning not believing that our policies and ur values and our principals -- principles are best especially for those most vulnerable. how can we do a better job of conveying that people as we look it play a role in the political discourse in 2014 sh >> great question. thank you. i believe we have to first go out into the communities where we want to expand. so that we can take our message to them. and it's -- a couple of minutes ago i was talking about walking the walk. f we go into churches and to schools where people are, and we start to teach them, to share with them our wisdom and our knowledge, and let them understand what our values are,

this is really a values battle. if we let people know that we are the party of values, and we help them. we care about them. i'm here to teach you young men how to be daddies or i'm here to teach you young ladies how to be mothers. or many of us are bankers. go into high schools and teach them how to manage bank accounts. if we go first thing that we must do is to go into other communities. and to let them know that we care. and we are there to share our wisdom, our knowledge, our expertise with them. and to make life better for them. if they see that, they will come with us. because their values are the values of our party. black folk, i'm shocked. i'm not shocked. there should be half of this room filled with black folk because black folk are so conservative. our values are basic american

values. but we have not gone and talked to them. we have to go and remind them of the history of this party. which is the history -- which is the history of civil rights and equal rights and equality. richard nixon's best president -- during my lifetime. nobody, richard nixon? he was a great president, and i think that history will bear him out. but i talked to black folk about richard nixon and all that we accomplished for equality during the richard nixon administration. if we do more of that, i think that we will bring more people to our side. thank you. thank you all. [applause]

>> next the president of the united negro college fund, michael lomax, on the future of his organization. then president and mrs. obama on newsmakers jason furman chair of the white house council of economic advisors, he will discuss unemployment and the current labor market and debate over the minimum wage, income inequality and the affordable care act. newsmakers sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> in may, 1918, amid wild celebration, the first american-built planes arrived in france. a british dh-4 design with a power liberty engine.

that fall, allied aircraft smashed supplies and communications behind the enemy lines on newest argon front. five weeks later, the armistice was signed. johnny came marching home. and after speeches and returning to the farms, shops and offices. but not the pilots who survived the great adventure of the wild blue yonder. with firm faith in the future importance of aviation, using castoff crates and obsolete equipment, many demonstrated their skills at state fairs. and to any large gathering they could find. >> the u.s. air force chronicles the history of american aviation. sunday on american history tv's real america. at 4:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3. next, michael lomax, the president and c.e.o. of the united negro college fund. he talks about the challenges

his organization faces. in continuing its mission of advancing higher education for students of color. this is an hour. >> good afternoon. and welcome. my name is maron belkin, adjunct and graduate school of political management. the former bureau chief for the associated press, and the 107th president of the national press club. the national press club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. committed to our profession's future, through our programming, with events such as this. while fostering a free press worldwide. for more information about the national press club, please isit our website at www. press.org. and to donate to programs offered to the public through our national press club journalism institute, please

www.press.org/institute. on behalf of our members worldwide, i would like to welcome our speaker and those of you attending today's event. our head table includes guests of our speaker as well as working journalists who are club members. if you hear applause in our audience, i note the members of the general public are attending. so it is not necessarily evidence of a lack of journalistic objectivity. i would also like to welcome our c-span and public radio audiences. you can follow the action on twitter. using the #npclunch. after our guest speech concludes, we'll have a question and answer period. i will ask as many questions as time permits. now it's time to introduce our head table. i would like to ask each of you to stand briefly as your name is mentioned. on my left, your right, markhamert, the washington

bureau chief of bankright and former n.p.c. president. oy johnson, wnew, whur and nbc 4. joe madison of sirius x.m. satellite radio. jerry's remsky of buffalo news and chair of the n.p.c. speaker's committee and a former national press club president. skipping over our speaker for a moment, captain kevin wensing, u.s. navy retired and speakers committee members who organized today's event. thank you, kevin. tamika smith of radio one. larry bevins of gannett, retired and former n.p.c. board member. and nyrie wright, m.s.l. group corpus and chair of the n.p.c. 5-k committee. [applause]

they're historically black colleges and produced alumni who made history. from the reverend martin luther king jr. to justice thurgood tony morrison and congressman john lewis who is coming right from the hill. all of these graduates of these schools have gone on to lead in fields ranging from politics to literature, to the arts. and for 70 years, the united negro college fund has been the financial lifeline that's allowed many of the students at historically black colleges to thrive. every year, the fund provides more than $100 million in scholarships to tens of thousands of students. over the decades, the fund has raised and distributed more than $3 billion in educational assistance. and in 1999 was the beneficiary of a $1 billion gift from the

bill and melinda gates foundation. $1 billion may seem like a lot of money, even here in washington. but the need is so great that for the united negro college fund, even $1 billion will run out eventually. and that's just one of the challenges the united negro college fund faces as it enters its eighth decade. here to address those challenges is our guest today, dr. michael l. lomax. president and chief executive of the united negro college fund. a native of los angeles, dr. lomax graduated from morehouse college and embarked on a career as a literature professor. he later served as president of dillard university before taking the helm at the college fund. in 2004. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in giving a warm national press club welcome to dr. michael lomax. [applause]

>> thank you, myron. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. and great thanks to all of you for joining us today. to discuss the current state of educational opportunities for college students of color in the country. and particularly the challenges facing our historically black colleges and universities for hbcu. as i look around the room i feel certain a great majority of you know who we are at the united negro college fund and what we do. i'm also aware that many americans of a diverse background know us primarily for our iconic motto "a mind is a terrible thing to waste." without knowing precisely what our role is. let me take a few moments to clarify. uncf was formed in 1944. yes, we are in our 0th year of existence. to consolidate the fundraising for a group of americans historically black colleges.

uncf core mission has always been to help fund these vital institutions that have brought educational opportunities to african-americans for over 100 years. during our 07 years we have helped more than 400,000 students graduate from our partner schools by raising nearly $4 billion. over time, we have developed a profile as a premium well-run nonprofit and an efficient manager of donated dollars. this led the bill and melinda gates foundation to entrust us with $1.6 billion in grants beginning in 1999 to be used for scholarships for all communities of color. today, we support more than 12,000 students at 900 schools across the country each year. but our core mission remains

our partnership with 37 private four-year hbcu's and to advocate for all 105 hbcu's, a number that includes the state-supported historically black institutions as well. today, our member schools are facing a financial crisis as uncf's s any in history. pressured by years of rising costs, even though uncf member schools have operating budgets that average less than 50% of those of other four-year private colleges. that is to say they tend to have much lower tuitions and are in many ways a best buy in education. the irony of the situation is that the financial crisis comes at a time when interests by african-american high school

students in attending hbcu's has been on the rise for over a decade. between the 2001 and 2002 academic year, and the 2012-2013 year, uncf member institutions saw a 78% rise in applications. at a 64% increase had in admissions. these numbers are comparable to all four-year institutions. but while enrollment at all four-year institutions rose by 21% over that period, enrollment at uncf's member hbcu's remained essentially flat. rising by only 5%. why? the answer is simple. lack of funding for scholarships. hbcu's tend to draw students from comparatively low income families and the need for

financial aid is significant. uncf is working hard to meet the strong demand by young african-americans for an education at our member schools. but donations have not kept pace with that demand. particularly in the aftermath of the great recession. the good news is that the demand is there. i'm often asked, how colleges that serve an almost exclusively black population can still be relevant in today's world. why, i'm asked, would a young african-american want to attend one of these institutions? well, for one thing, hbcu's do a very good job educating these students. hbcu graduates from laser focused on getting jobs. that's why they go to college. they understand the critical importance of a college degree in today's economy. most hbcu students major in

business. or a business-related field like accounting. many are interested in the stem subjects, science, technology, engineering and math. they know where the jobs are. there are deeper reasons for continued demand for hbcu's, however. i've talked to thousands of students about their interest in attending an hbcu. and they tend to raise three points to explain why they want to attend an hess torquely black college. first, they say the schools feel like home. they feel like family. second, they believe hbcu's will let them explore themselves as an individual. rather than as a statistic. and finally, at an hbcu, they feel they can learn more about where they come from. this is a powerful set of motivators that echoes research from uncf's frederick d.

patterson research institute. and i believe will continue to motivate students for years to come. desire and high motivation, however, are not the same as scholarship funding. i have found it personally painful to see the number of applications for the scholarships available through uncf skyrocket while the number of scholarships themselves has grown much more slowly. the ratio of applications to available scholarships is approaching 10-1. at uncf, we all agree that this has to change. we have redoubled our efforts to increase donations and revamped our operations to better serve uncf members and our students. the reality of these bright young people with dreams for a

college education but desperately needing scholarships led to last year's update of our fundraising campaign which we called "better futures." we need to raise the level of urgency of our appeal to donors and highlight the impact of a college education for everyone. but particularly for african-americans and students of color. we needed to look at funding for scholarships at hbcu's less as an isolated donation and more as an investment in the future. it is an investment in the future of young black men and women and an investment in the future of their communities and an investment in the future of the well-being of our society. so our iconic motto recognized according to research by over

90% of americans has been changed to reflect the urgent need to create better futures. our new motto reads "a mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in." and investing in students through uncf works. our patterson research institute examines the effectiveness of our scholarships and found that an african-american freshman who receives a $5,000 uncf scholarship returns for her ophomore year at a 94% rate. raduates in six years at a 70% rate. which is considerably higher than the 59% six-year grad wakes rate at all our four-year colleges. and sees her likelihood of raduating increase by over 7%.

so let me make this point clear for you. the six-year graduation rate for african-americans is 40%. if we could increase that rate by over 7%, we would graduate close to 16,000 more african-americans with bachelor's degrees each year. that is an investment that pays dividends not only for those students but also to the investors and the country at large. this data and other economic impact research undergirds our campaign so when we talk about an investment in uncf, as an investment in better futures, we have the numbers to back it up. feed jag on the new campaign from supporters has been positive. and we are optimistic for the future. but the financial crisis at our hbcu members is happening right now.

today. it is real. and it has been made worse by changes made by the department of education in october 2011. to the credit requirements for parent plus loans. these loans are one of the most important supports for higher education provided by the u.s. government. and they happen to be a major funding source for college by african-american parents who are willing to make great sacrifices to help their children realize their dreams of a college degree. we were blind-sided by the changes that literally from one day to the next made many thousands of these parents ineligible for parent plus loans. the impact on students who depended on parent plus funds was immediate. and devastating. many who arrived at their college dorms after the summer break in the fall of 2012 were

literally turned away at the door. eventually, some 28,000 hbcu students felt the shock of the changes to parent plus. many were forced to drop out of school. bcu's themselves lost $155 million in revenue in 2012-2013 alone. further straining already tight budgets. it is astounding that this administration that has set itself up as a great promoter of education could have pursued a policy change so detrimental to the education of so many young people. and to make the change with no public discussion. no advanced communication. and zero effort to give parents and students timely information and potential alternatives with

simply -- was simply irresponsible. after more than two years this situation has remained essentially unchanged. despite widespread concerns by parents and the efforts of a broad coalition of organizations. with a leading role played by members of the congressional black caucus. the only effort to rectify the situation has been a letter by secretary duncan to the c.b.c. to announce a program to allow parents to appeal their parent plus status and plan to make -- to take a look at the credit criteria through a lengthy regulatory process. not an acceptable solution. in the face of this situation, uncf has made a special appeal to our supporters for emergency funding to replace the lost parent plus loans with scholarships for students forced to drop out of school. i want to thank the many

individual, philanthropic and corporate donors who have responded to our appeal. let me be clear. that uncf believes that both parent plus loans and the more widely used pell grants, as well as all of the federal loan programs, need attention by the government so they will better serve students facing today's realities in college education. draconian overnight changes are not the way to proceed. what's needed is a more thoughtful, collaborative process. however, we are also aware that in washington, collaboration is lamentably in short supply. you know, there was a time when partnership did not stand in the way of progress. that when partisanship, pardon me, when partisanship did not stand in the way of progress. in washington. coalitions built with members of both parties were able to

find common ground to move forward on important initiatives for the public good. but we have now entered a time of widespread paralysis in our nation's capital. combined with a decade or more of cuts to higher education at the state level, that have forced public college and university tuitions to rise far beyond the affordable level for a large portion of americans. we now see higher education in crisis mode throughout the country. while uncf will continue to advocate for change in washington, we have responded to the paralysis by increasing our traditional focus on the private sector. with our updated campaign, and mphasis on donations as an investment, we are sparing no effort to meet and form relationships with individuals and organizations interested in

supporting higher education. all we ask is that they believe in our mission and in the reality that a mind is a terrible thing to waste but a wonderful thing to invest in. and with that, let me share a recent experience related to our new better futures campaign. as i think it provides a window into just how polarized our world has become. sadly, it's a world that puts politics before a student's education and her future. many of you have probably heard of the ad council. but may not know what they do. they provide free public service announcement time on television and radio for nonprofits such as uncf. the time is donated by the stations and other sponsors.

a number of times last year, our p.s.a. announcements aired for free on rush limbaugh's program and on the al jazeera network. well, i bet you can guess what happened. we received angry letters and calls from all across the country asking how we could possibly support rush limbaugh and al jazeera. the reality is we did not and do not financially support them. but we did want their audiences to hear our message. while i'm not certain we received huge traction or new donors, what i do know is that our message about the importance of investing in students and students of color should be delivered whenever and wherever there is an

audience. there should be no litmus test on who wants to support uncf. and hbcu's. urs is not a partisan message. it is a universal appeal and one we believe all americans should support. in the end, i bet we did get a couple of new supporters. but the bottom line is education for low income minority students must transcend politics. if we are to succeed. it's important to emphasize that uncf does not consider the crisis facing hbcu's as the only or perhaps even the most important issue in education today. it is simply the one most central to our mission. we are advocates for education in a number of areas. one of them is college

readiness and the primary and secondary school initiatives designed to make those schools more effective at providing solid learning and preparation for college and careers. research by the testing firm a.c.t. last year indicates that only 5% -- let me say that again. nly 5% of recent a.c.t. tested african-american high school graduates measured by combined scores on english, reading, math, and science beverage benchmarks that only 5% of those tested students are college ready. this has to change. and it can change when students take a rigorous college preparatory curriculum that includes a core of four years of english and three years each of math, social studies and

science. the authors of the a.c.t. study say that they have consistently found the students who take the recommended core curriculum are more likely to be ready for college or career than those who do not. a.c.t. data show that african-american high school graduates who have taken core or more as they say curriculum meet college readiness benchmarks at much higher rates than those who do not. this tells me the two new nationally adopted curriculum standards in english and math that have caused heated debate must be preserved in the form that gives our students the rigorous preparation and basic courses they need to succeed in college and careers.

day, i go backhe to our better futures campaign. erve our -- we s partners to secure more economic young people. this reverberates throughout the community and our society. education is the best form of economic development. it is the best pathway to better futures. hbcus have played and continue to play a role in the education of average americans. dating from the time in which blacks were excused did -- excluded from universities and other institutions of higher learning and continuing right through today. only four represent percent of the nation's four-year colleges and 20%ersities account for

of african-american bachelor degree recipients. hbcus have proven their value. we all have a role to play in overcoming the current crisis and ensuring their success and long-term viability. uncf has accelerated and intensified its appeal for donations from individuals, philanthropies, and corporations. who have athat all serious interest in higher education should consider donating to hbcus through uncf. a mind is amber, terrible thing to waste. what a wonderful thing to invest in. i am delighted to take questions. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the new honorable john lewis who came from a busy warning -- morning on the hill. [applause] >> i am honored to have my angressman join us and alumnus of an hbcus member institution. congressman lewis, thank you for being here today. john, i have to do what you probably have to do. i have to answer questions at this point. i may call on you to help me out. [laughter] >> dr. lomax, you mentioned that uncf donations have not kept pace with demand. why is that?

uncf donations have been going up but not at the same pace as the demand -- because the demand is so great. for every scholarship that uncf provides -- this year we will provide about 10,000 scholarships with a value of $100 million. we turned down nine students for every scholarship we award. the demand is 10 to 1. uncf is committed to redoubling our efforts to increase the to provide we have scholarships to students and support to private distort the black colleges -- this story clay -- historically black colleges and that is why we're here today to let you know there are crisis at -- they are there to educate low income students. those students don't have the financial wherewithal to pay with tuition and they need

scholarship support that uncf provides. >> after 70 years of success, uncf has had leaders going into many fields. has the success of your students translated into significant grants and endowments and aided fundraising efforts? we are in the final stages of this year's annual campaign which will and on march 31. when we close our books, we expect to of raised somewhere and $75$70 million million. we will have a base of tens of thousands of individual donors as well as corporations and foundations that will of helped us raise that. we will of had almost 50 special events in cities all across this country. and throughout that network of havert, uncf alumni

provided labor to revive those daughters. donations. we have to get even more support from america's wealthy individuals from major corporations and foundations to ensure that we can address the crisis of affordability and resources for students today to pay the tuition to attend the colleges of their choice. if we are not able to do that, they will suffer, the communities will suffer, and our nation well. -- will. >> the gates foundation money is substantial. anit structured into endowment and if so, why can't it meet the demand for scholarships? the gates foundation awarded

uncf initially $1 million in four-yearard 20,000 scholarships to african american students, latina students, native american, asian. we have awarded 17,000 of those scholarships. we will award 3000 more scholarships in the next three years. 1000 scholars a year. this is a program which has a strategy. it will run out, although there will be a surplus of about $300 million at the end of the scholarship period. chief financial officer shaking his head -- maybe a little less than that. they did not want an endowment. they wanted this to be a program. even $1.6 billion can pay for

everybody. -- can't pay for everybody. we have shared with the nation the impact of that scholarship which -- the students can make this award. these are high performing, low income students. they can take this to the college of their choice. we have them attending 900 colleges and universities and a graduate added 90% five-year rate. we also will support them through the phd, hence the stem disciplines and public health. it has been an incredible demonstration of the power and impact of scholarships. we would like to see more people step up like bill and melinda gates had an support more young people as they work to realize their dreams of a college education.

stars was always a great source of funding. does it still support uncf's mission? an evening of star started almost 40 years ago. nancy wilson and clifton davis with the first two starts to step forward and create the program in los angeles. lou rawls was the guiding light. we continue to have the show. we have made some changes. will tape it in atlanta, georgia, not in los angeles on april 6. onwill be broadcast on bt april 13. asis returning to its roots a fundraiser. it was an old telefon with people sitting at a long table answering phones. we don't do that way. there will be a one 800 number.

there'll be a lot of social media and it is our plan that this will re-energize a new generation of funders around this critical time of supporting individual students in need of financial support for college educations and his story clay -- historically black colleges which are in financial crisis today. think the obama administration has been so unresponsive to your concerns about parent plus loans? [laughter] >> it has been a conundrum for me. why does the administration dug their heels on what is, by even their own admission, a bad policy and a bad process.

i will let secretary duncan and his team make the case for why they have maintained the policy. i will make the case today that parent plus, federal financial all of the loan programs need a comprehensive and thorough review. which is part of the reauthorization of the elementary -- of the reauthorization of the acts that created these programs. that they need to go ton the clock back, returned the policy that was in place prior to the change they made, and then have an open process for considering this and other changes that need to be made. is there was a huge

pipeline of low income, first-generation students queuing up to go to college. they worked hard. they have learned what they were supposed to learn, they have done what they were supposed to do, they are at the doors of college classrooms all across this country. they have the academic preparation, they don't have the financial capability of paying tuition and room and board. we need to find a way for them to get private scholarships and that is the work of uncf. the federal government needs to get the pell grant so they can pay for more of that college experience wherever the students go. recognize that students are going to have to have skin in the game. they have to borrow. they and their families have to make decisions. a we need to -- we need structure the loan programs so

that the interest rates are appropriate. so that the repayment plans are taken into consideration whether a student is employed in how much he or she is making after graduation. also, so that the collection of those loans is not on the backs of colleges and universities. what is undertaken by the federal government itself. australia, if i borrow to go to college, the equivalent of is responsible for collecting my dad, they know how much i earn and they know how much i can pay back. today, that responsibility is on the back of colleges and universities. it is a distraction from the work they need to be doing which is ensuring that their students graduate with the skills and capabilities needed to compete in the 21st century. administration is thickest -- focus on just parent

plus and made it such a bad fix and told us a little bit about it? i think they need to defend. has hadwe know it adverse impact on the students and their families were trying to get a college education and that is why uncf is continuing to speak on this issue and why we continue to raise dollars to help those students with private scholarships. >> one more question about president obama. president obama recently launched his my brothers keeper initiative aimed at " tto help more young men of color facing especially tough odds to stay on track and reach their full potential." -- is the united negro college fund a part of obama's effort and you see this as an area where you can play an important role? model partnership

and civil disagreement. with the obama administration on an issue and we do on parent plus. we are vigorous in our disagreement, but we can also lift up the incredible work that the president, first lady, and the department of education are doing to focus on students of color, low income students who are trying to get a college education. nowhere have they done a more important job than focusing on boys. yes, we look forward to partnering with them and had a theestion recently from department of education official that we focus again on the successes we have hit on -- have nativeh latino, and ireland -- islander youth. 50% of all the scholars are boys and they have a graduation rate

almost as high as the girls. across-the-board graduation rate is 90%. demonstrate is when you remove the financial barrier and you provide support for these young people who are pursuing something that is really hard -- going to college, leaving home, leaving their support network. support,ovide them they will soar. there are other examples within the uncf scholarship portfolio of success with the young man and we look forward to highlighting those and getting others to replicate them. >> regarding your support of the common core of national curriculum, what would you say to common core critics who say it is a top-down takeover of education?

>> common core curriculum which is really just setting very high standards in math and english and writing. understandingr was something that was embraced by most of the states' governors and it has only been in the limitation -- imp lementation. there are critics that say this is some kind of way of centralizing the role of the federal government and controlling what happens in local education. our kids need to be competitive in the 21st century. english't need to learn in one way in one community and english and another way at another community. matt in one way -- math in other communities. these are fundamental building

blocks for all education. can be o uur kids taught at a highly rigorous and demanding level and they can rise to that occasion. the students there competing with are not just the kids from the suburbs. our kids are competing with kids in china, india, and western europe. compete in theto 21st century, they are going to have to work harder and they're going to have to learn more and learn exacting rigorous standard levels and that is why i support common core. i made one other point. curriculum for low income kids of color has been dumbed down. it has been the general education courses, the basic

courses that those kids have been exposed to which is neither prepared them for citizenship, for career, nor for college. i want low income african american, latino and other kids of color to get the chance not to be low income. to best chance for them is get the education that will prepare them for college and to get the support that will enable them to graduate from college. that is why i support common core. >> the level of education and reading and writing proficiency among many high school graduates has fallen in some places in recent years. uncf school seeing this and how do you rate the quality of incoming freshmen today compared with those from 10 to 20 years ago? freshman composition

beginning in 1959. i have a pretty good recollection of just how good those young men were nearly 45 years ago. taught the kids that i in an earlier generation wanted to go to college, but they had gone to segregated schools in the deep south and they had not gotten the kinds of educational preparation. we spent a lot of time at morehouse in the 1960's doing remedial work. every student took reading and basic writing courses and they had to work very hard to be able to get proficient so that they could move into the advanced courses. today, the good news is we are seeing more young people who have gone to demanding middle and high schools who are anduating college ready

they are coming to the institutions prepared to do for credit work. tells us it is only five percent were college ready in all four disciplines. they mean that a student has a 75% chance of getting a "c' in one of the courses or getting a 50% chance of getting a "b." they may not be proficient in all four of those at -- areas, but maybe in three or two of them. we are seeing more kids that know that college is important, are motivated, and are doing everything they can to succeed, not only -- not always with the preparation. i spoke with one college president a year or so ago as we were facing the parent plus loan problem. of todaythe irony being a college president is i

am seeing students come who are academically better prepared, but who are financially more challenge. say -- even as we saw the academic preparation issue, we got to solve the financial capability issue and government really has a very important role to play there. access and the rapid growth of online education affected the historically black colleges and have easy online education affecting the business model of the schools in the future? >> we continue to see significant increases in applications to black colleges. as i said, close to 80% over the last decade. admissions are up. acceptances are down.

we don't think that -- we think the reason why the students don't come is because we can offer them more scholarships and financial aid. not that they think there was a better school for them to attend or that they want to go online. a vital ande is vibrant and growing secular -- sector. it continues to attract older learners who are already in the workforce who want to enhance their skills. or get another degree. i don't see them as competitive with hbcus. i would say they are laboratories for best practice on how to instruct using technology and i think that all brick-and-mortar colleges and universities would be well with onlineering

education and learning how you can instruct effectively using that medium. it is one that not many people understand. many collegest at -- black colleges is that members of our faculty and staff who are working full-time in administrative and faculty positions have chosen online universities as places to pursue doctoral degrees. so, i would say that has been a good thing and i think online is here. disregarded at your own peril. i believe there is an important role going on into the future or black colleges to provide the kinds of nurturing, family, supportive environment that many

of these first-generation high school students are looking for and said they want and can only find, not online, but at an hbc you -- at an hbcu. >> there is but also great growth in poor -- and for-profit colleges in recent years. what is your opinion on the education they provide and their costs? good, some are very good, and some are bad. it is the role of the federal government through its accrediting and oversight to determine who the bad actors are and to get them out of the marketplace. >> i know you touched on this briefly but let me ask -- some people suggest that a college degree is not for everyone and that trade schools or community colleges with technical programs are better use of funds and provide more job opportunities

than traditional four-year colleges, . what do you think of this train of thought and hasn't had an cu?act on hb >> there are a lot of answers to this one. the people that always talk about college as not being valuable any longer are people who if you asked them where they are telling their own kids or their own grandkids, they are telling them to go to college. the college remains the gold standard. a four-year degree is a great investment for any young person. they will double their earnings over a lifetime. we have just gone through a terrible recession. as bad as the unemployment has been in the african-american large, it hast not been as severe for our college graduates.

african-american unemployment for college graduates has been about eight percent. unemployment at large was about 15%. it has been a good buy. everyone, but for everybody should be read -- should be ready for college. i think we shouldn't assume that certain kids are not going to go to college because when we start assuming that, we always look at the black and brown kids as the one we assume are not college material. there are some great jobs out there. don't require a college degree. most of those great jobs require a certification or some post secondary education. if you are going to be an auto youanic working on bmws,

are going to do that with the computer on one hand and another piece of electronic equipment on the other. it is not going to be your manual labor as we used to think of it. i will say that we need to prepare all of our kids for the skills that are required in the 21st century workforce and that means some post secondary education, whether it is this notification -- a certification or four-year degree. most americans in the 21st century are going to pursue education episodically. they are not all going to graduate from high school, immediately enroll in college, and complete in four years. that is, today, the minority of students. the majority of students are going to finish high school, go on and get some college, go into

the workforce, beside the need to update skills and go back and forth throughout their lifetme. ime. we need to have support for those students wherever they are on that journey, including financial support and financial programs that recognize that people are going to go in and out. i think that is the work of the department of education and it is the work of organizations like uncf that provide scholarship support to the students throughout their educational journey. >> american university continues to attract students from around the world. collegesically black attract and seek out international student and in what numbers?

hbcus are diverse institutions. if you go to xavier university in new orleans, you will find there is a large group of first and second generation vietnamese who are studying pharmacy. willu go to houston, you find they have a significant double-digit percentage of their students who are mexican-american, many of them first-generation. that is the case at hbcus across the country. in florida, many of the students are first-generation haitian americans. more often than not, hbcus are attractive institutions to new americans. they are also institutions which have international reputation as places where students of color have had an opportunity to get a good degree.

one of the countries that is focused a lot of attention as of late on hbcus has been brazil. with strong per -- programs with howard university here, with morehouse and spelman, sending students to study in the u.s. and those institutions setting their students to study abroad. there is an international dimension. ofre is a diverse population students and these institutions open their arms and embrace anyone who wants to come there to learn. >> we are almost out of time. before asking the last question, we have a couple of housekeeping matters. you of ouremind upcoming events and speakers. a march 31, senator craig deeds will discuss mental health and

on april 2, the irs commissioner, john, will be speaking. please feel free to come in here. [laughter] now, dr. lomax, i would like to present you with the traditional national press club mug which we give to our many distinguished visitors from around the world and united states. i am honored to do so. thank you very much. [applause] thank you for coming today. my last question -- your konica is that -- iconic motto a mind is a terrible thing to waste. with colorado in other states having legalized or wanted, do you worry that more students campus andted on

that they might waste their education as a result? [laughter] >> no. [laughter] few minutes a remaining, i would like to ask my good friend and my congressman john lewis if you would say a closing remark about the importance of an hbcus education. john? [applause] >> thank you, dr. lomax, for all your great and good work. thank you for all that you do. if it hadn't been for these colleges and universities, i wouldn't be standing here today. first one in my family to finish high school. first one in my family to go to college. pathway to the middle class, middle america.