The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is hosting its annual Presidents & Chancellors HBCU Fly-In from April 1-3, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
The HBCU Fly-In is a seminal event for presidents and chancellors from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), historically Black community colleges (HBCCs), and predominantly Black institutions (PBIs). The Fly-In facilitates direct engagement with key stakeholders, including members of Congress, executive branch officials and corporate leaders to address issues of law and policy that impact TMCF member schools and the broader higher education community.
“This year will be our largest HBCU Fly-In, which illustrates the impact and value it brings to our member schools and their students,” Dr. Harry L. Williams, president & CEO of TMCF, said. “Making these connections is critical to addressing some of the most important issues facing our institutions.”
The HBCU Fly-In programming will feature a networking breakfast and TMCF’s traditional Capitol Hill reception, where presidents and chancellors have the opportunity to engage directly with their congressional representatives and other lawmakers.
Demonstrating his belief in the importance of the event, Dr. Williams is hosting a group of Howard University students who aspire to work in higher education.
“It’s important for the next generation of higher education leaders to get a close-up view of tackling high-level challenges at the institution level,” Dr. Williams said. “This is a great opportunity outside the classroom to illustrate that.”
The event is a pillar of TMCF’s continuous effort to advocate for federal legislation and policies that facilitate the sustainability and growth of HBCUs, HBCCs and PBIs, as well as help institutions access resources to build capacity, and strengthen academic and financial support to enable students to persist to graduation.
TMCF’s advocacy has delivered valuable outcomes for its member schools, including $5.5 billion in pandemic-relief funds, the launch of the first University-Affiliated Research Center (UARC) at an HBCU and critical assistance through the HBCU Capital Finance Program.
