U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

36–131 WASHINGTON : 2019

LOST OPPORTUNITIES? SBA’S ENGAGEMENT WITH 

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND 

UNIVERSITIES 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS, 

OVERSIGHT, AND REGULATIONS 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS 

UNITED STATES 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

HEARING HELD 

APRIL 30, 2019 

Small Business Committee Document Number 116–016 

Available via the GPO Website: www.govinfo.gov 

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Congress.#13
(II) 

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS 

NYDIA VELA ́ ZQUEZ, New York, Chairwoman 

ABBY FINKENAUER, Iowa 

JARED GOLDEN, Maine 

ANDY KIM, New Jersey 

JASON CROW, Colorado 

SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas 

JUDY CHU, California 

MARC VEASEY, Texas 

DWIGHT EVANS, Pennsylvania 

BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois 

ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York 

ANTONIO DELGADO, New York 

CHRISSY HOULAHAN, Pennsylvania 

ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio, Ranking Member 

AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN, American Samoa, Vice Ranking Member 

TRENT KELLY, Mississippi 

TROY BALDERSON, Ohio 

KEVIN HERN, Oklahoma 

JIM HAGEDORN, Minnesota 

PETE STAUBER, Minnesota 

TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee 

ROSS SPANO, Florida 

JOHN JOYCE, Pennsylvania 

ADAM MINEHARDT, Majority Staff Director 

MELISSA JUNG, Majority Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

KEVIN FITZPATRICK, Staff Director 

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C O N T E N T S 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Page 

Hon. Judy Chu ......................................................................................................... 1 

Hon. Ross Spano ...................................................................................................... 3 

WITNESSES 

Ms. Anna Maria Ortiz, Acting Director, Financial Markets and Community 

Investment, Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC ................... 4 

Mr. Allen Gutierrez, Associate Administrator, Office of Entrepreneurial Development, Small Business Administration, Washington, DC ......................... 6 

Dr. Paulette Dillard, President, Shaw University, Raleigh, NC ......................... 19 

Dr. Barron H. Harvey, Dean of the School of Business, Howard University, 

Washington, DC ................................................................................................... 20 

Dr. Michael H. Casson, Jr., Dean of the School of Business, Delaware State 

University, Dover, DE .......................................................................................... 21 

Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, President and CEO, Benedict College, Columbia, 

SC .......................................................................................................................... 23

APPENDIX 

Prepared Statements: 

Ms. Anna Maria Ortiz, Acting Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC .... 32 

Mr. Allen Gutierrez, Associate Administrator, Office of Entrepreneurial 

Development, Small Business Administration, Washington, DC ............. 51 

Dr. Paulette Dillard, President, Shaw University, Raleigh, NC .................. 54 

Dr. Barron H. Harvey, Dean of the School of Business, Howard University, Washington, DC .................................................................................... 77 

Dr. Michael H. Casson, Jr., Dean of the School of Business, Delaware 

State University, Dover, DE ........................................................................ 84 

Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, President and CEO, Benedict College, Columbia, 

SC ................................................................................................................... 88 

Questions for the Record: 

None. 

Answers for the Record: 

None. 

Additional Material for the Record: 

None. 

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LOST OPPORTUNITIES? SBA’S ENGAGEMENT 

WITH HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES 

AND UNIVERSITIES 

TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS, OVERSIGHT, AND

REGULATIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:02 a.m., in Room 

2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Judy Chu [chairwoman 

of the Subcommittee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Chu, Evans, Houlahan, Spano, and 

Burchett. 

Also Present: Representative Adams. 

Chairwoman CHU. Good morning. The Subcommittee will come 

to order. And I would like to thank everybody for joining us here 

this morning. And I would like to especially thank our witnesses. 

Let me also welcome Representative Alma Adams, who will be 

joining us here today. Representative Adams served on the Small 

Business Committee in the last Congress and has been a formidable voice in Congress for historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs. She founded the bipartisan HBCU Caucus, and 

her leadership on this important issue is commendable. And, in 

fact, it is she who pushed for this hearing to happen, and I thank 

her for that. 

Welcome back. 

Ms. ADAMS. It is good to be here. 

Chairwoman CHU. Well, the purpose of today’s hearing is to examine whether HBCUs are receiving adequate support from the 

Small Business Administration to help foster entrepreneurship. 

Over 150 years ago, the first HBCUs were born out of adversity 

to ensure African-Americans had an opportunity to attend college. 

Today, there are more than 100 historic institutions across the 

country, serving nearly 300,000 students, many of whom are lowincome and the first in their family to attend college. 

HBCUs’ contributions to our country are extraordinary, producing over 50 percent of African-American professionals. Many of 

our Nation’s leaders in government, business, and academia graduated from HBCUs, including Supreme Court Justice Thurgood 

Marshall, Oprah Winfrey, and Langston Hughes, just to name a 

few. 

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HBCUs are so deeply rooted in their local communities, 

partnering with schools and community organizations to improve 

the quality of education for disadvantaged minority students and 

fostering entrepreneurship. 

The positive economic impact HBCUs have provided to our Nation also cannot be understated. Data provided by the National 

Center for Education Statistics reveals that graduates are responsible for 24 percent of the degrees earned by African-Americans in 

STEM and generate $14.8 billion in economic activity, creating 

nearly 135,000 jobs. 

Recognizing the importance of HBCUs, President Jimmy Carter 

signed the first Executive order to establish a White House initiative to overcome the effects of discriminatory treatment and to 

strengthen the capacity of HBCUs to provide a quality education. 

Every administration since then has issued a similar Executive 

order continuing support for HBCUs. 

Most recently, President Trump signed Executive Order 13779, 

which set two goals: first, to increase the private-sector role in 

strengthening HBCUs; and, secondly, to enhance the HBCUs’ capabilities for helping young adults. As part of that initiative, the SBA 

is required to develop an annual plan detailing its efforts to support HBCU participation in its entrepreneurship programs. 

At the request of Representative Adams and 19 Members of Congress, the Government Accountability Office examined SBA’s entrepreneurship efforts with HBCUs. The GAO recently released its 

preliminary findings, which found SBA entrepreneurship activities 

and programs do not specifically target HBCUs but some collaboration does exist. 

The GAO report found only two HBCUs host lead SBDCs, while 

there are 16 HBCUs with SBDC service centers on campus. They 

also concluded that, over a decade, SBA signed just 24 strategic alliance memorandums with HBCUs to support minority-owned businesses and that SBA cosponsored 6 counseling and training activities with HBCUs over a 5-year period. 

Clearly, more needs to be done to strengthen the collaboration 

between SBA and the HBCUs, and that is why we are holding this 

hearing today. 

HBCUs offer tremendous opportunities to foster entrepreneurship and drive economic growth, particularly in underserved communities. As many of us in this room already know, small-business 

owners in underserved communities face a number of challenges, 

which include access to affordable capital from traditional lenders, 

securing Federal contracting opportunities, and a lack of a business 

network and mentoring. During recent testimony before our Committee, Ms. Sharon Pinder testified that the loan denial rate is 

three times higher for people of color than non-minority firms and, 

if approved, minorities often have higher interest rates. 

As the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Investigations, 

Oversight, and Regulations, I am committed to working with SBA 

and its entrepreneurial development ecosystem to help minority entrepreneurs overcome these challenges and develop a clear path to 

small-business ownership. 

This ecosystem has the ability to reach entrepreneurs to make 

them aware of programs like the Community Advantage Pilot ProSBD026 with DISTILLER

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gram, which is specifically designed to increase SBA-guaranteed 

loans to small businesses in underserved areas. We know that 

small-dollar loans greatly benefit emerging markets and startups, 

but these programs can’t fully succeed if the SBA is not allocating 

resources to increase awareness and participation. 

It is my hope that the first panel will provide members with a 

better understanding of SBA’s current activities to promote collaboration with HBCUs and also identify ways to strengthen that collaboration. 

I also look forward to the second panel, where we will hear from 

the leaders of four HBCUs. It is important to hear their perspectives on SBA’s level of engagement with their faculty, students, 

and communities. Because, in the end, this is about supporting entrepreneurs, small business, and job growth in all of our communities. 

And, with that, I yield to Ranking Member Spano for his opening 

statement. 

Mr. SPANO. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. 

Good morning to everyone. 

As a third-generation small-business owner myself, I am very familiar with the reciprocal relationship between entrepreneurs and 

their surrounding communities. Communities offer vital resources 

and support for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and, in return, those small businesses spark economic development and job 

growth. 

Educational institutions are the bedrock of their local communities and a launch pad for leaders of the next generation. Our Nation’s 101 historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, 

serve students and communities across many cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. 

The Small Businesses Administration, or SBA, offers a variety of 

programs that provide resources to socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Business assistance services are provided 

through a nationwide network of field offices and nonprofit resource providers which are often located on or near college campuses. Given their complementary missions, collaboration between 

the SBA and HBCUs has enormous potential. 

Recognizing this, last year, Congresswoman Alma Adams and 

former Congressman Dave Brat wrote a letter to the Government 

Accountability Office, or GAO, requesting a review of SBA’s outreach to HBCUs. And we are here today to receive the GAO report 

generated by last year’s request and discuss its findings with the 

author of the report and the SBA official responsible for entrepreneurial efforts with HBCUs. 

We also have the privilege to hear from HBCU officials that have 

partnered with SBA to provide entrepreneurial assistance. 

To quote the request letter, we want to ensure that SBA is 

leveraging HBCUs in the most effective way. 

I would like to thank the witnesses on both panels this morning 

for joining us today. 

And I yield back, Chair. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you, Mr. Spano. 

The gentleman yields back. 

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And if Subcommittee members have an opening statement prepared, we would ask that they be submitted for the record. 

I would like to take just a minute to explain the timing rules. 

Each witness gets 5 minutes to testify, and the members get 5 minutes for questioning. 

There is a lighting system to assist you. The green light will be 

on when you begin, and the yellow light begins when you have 1 

minute remaining. The red light comes on when you are out of 

time. And we ask that you stay within that timeframe to the best 

of your ability. 

I would like to introduce our witnesses on our first panel. 

Our first witness is Ms. Anna Maria Ortiz, the Acting Director 

of Financial Markets and Community Investment at the Government Accountability Office. In that position, she oversees audits related to consumer financial protection, insurance, banking, housing, and financial services. 

Ms. Ortiz graduated from Princeton with a degree in political 

economy and received her Ph.D. and Master of Arts in political 

science from the University of Michigan. 

Welcome, Ms. Ortiz. 

Our second witness on the first panel today is Mr. Allen Gutierrez, the Associate Administrator of the Office of Entrepreneurial 

Development at the Small Business Administration. 

Prior to joining the SBA, he served as the national executive director of The Latino Coalition, where it grew to include 1.2 million 

Hispanic business owners and over 90 coalition partners. Before his 

time at The Latino Coalition, Mr. Gutierrez served as a senior advisor to the COO at the SBA from 2001 to 2006. 

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor 

in business administration from the University of Southern California. 

Welcome, Mr. Gutierrez. 

And so, Ms. Ortiz, you are now recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENTS OF ANNA MARIA ORTIZ, ACTING DIRECTOR OF 

FINANCIAL MARKETS AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D.C.; 

AND ALLEN GUTIERREZ, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, OFFICE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT, SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, WASHINGTON, D.C. 

STATEMENT OF ANNA MARIA ORTIZ 

Ms. ORTIZ. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

Chairwoman Chu, Ranking Member Spano, thank you for having 

me here today. 

Historically black colleges and universities, HBCUs, play a critical role in supporting underserved students and communities. 

Among the African-Americans with advanced degrees in science, 

technology, math, and engineering, fully one-third earned their undergraduate degrees at HBCUs. 

Meanwhile, among the major priorities of the Small Business Administration is to help Americans start, build, and grow businesses—that is, to become effective entrepreneurs. 

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Under the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities, SBA and other Federal agencies are tasked with 

enhancing HBCUs’ capacity to compete for and participate in Federal programs and initiatives. 

My testimony today concerns both SBA’s work to promote entrepreneurship at HBCUs and preliminary observations on SBA’s implementation of its goals under the White House initiative. 

At heart, GAO’s research suggests that SBA’s uneven administration and record-keeping of its obligations underneath the White 

House initiative may result in it missing opportunities to capitalize 

on the unique role of the HBCUs in the American educational system. 

GAO found that, although SBA’s entrepreneurship programs and 

activities do not directly target HBCUs, some collaboration exists. 

Done well, these partnerships show the potential for SBA and 

HBCU collaboration to generate economic growth. 

For example, the Small Business Development Center at one 

HBCU, the University of the Virgin Islands, counsels students in 

a competition to promote startup businesses. A graduate of the university told us how the training and counseling he received during 

the competition was critical in launching his customized event 

planning company. 

Despite anecdotal examples of collaboration, SBA has provided 

GAO limited information on its activities with HBCUs. While SBA 

offices occasionally partner with HBCUs to offer workshops and 

training, several district offices report that they have no systematic 

approach to collecting data on their outreach activities. 

SBA officials told us that, while they track cosponsored activities, 

their systems are not set up in a way to allow them to identify specific institutions with which they partner, such as HBCUs. These 

information gaps are significant because SBA needs reliable data 

on its activities to gauge progress towards the agency’s stated 

goals. 

Further, GAO has observed that SBA’s administration of and 

record-keeping for the White House initiative has not been fully 

transparent. For example, the agency was inconsistent in responding to GAO questions about which SBA office had responsibility for 

leading the initiative, provided incomplete information on some of 

its activities, and was not able to provide evidence for 7 of 10 agency plans it was required to prepare for the initiative between 2008 

and 2018. Without a cohesive leadership and oversight strategy, 

SBA cannot ensure that its program and district offices are taking 

appropriate steps to implement its agency’s plans. 

In its 2017 issuance of an Executive Order continuing the White 

House Initiative on HBCUs, the current administration has declared its commitment to ensuring that Federal agencies enhance 

the capacity of HBCUs and advance America’s full human potential. Imagine the effects on the small-business ecosystem if technologically minded HBCU graduates were to channel their energy 

into entrepreneurship. 

Effectively administering its obligations under the White House 

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tion, promote entrepreneurship, and increase economic vitality in 

communities throughout the United States. 

This concludes my oral statement. I welcome any questions you 

may have. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you, Ms. Ortiz. 

And now, Mr. Gutierrez. 

STATEMENT OF ALLEN GUTIERREZ 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Thank you very much, Chairman Chu, Ranking Member Spano, and members of the Subcommittee, for inviting 

me to speak with you today. 

In 2018, SBA Administrator McMahon asked that I take a lead 

role in coordinating the agency’s work with the President’s Executive order on HBCUs. Since then, our office has responsibility for 

preparing an annual plan, coordinating activities within SBA, attending interagency meetings related to broader Federal agency 

HBCU outreach, the most recent of which I attended just last 

week. 

Prior to this assignment, I did not have much context to the 

agency’s working response to similar previous Executive orders or 

even the agency’s history of partnerships with HBCUs through our 

district offices. In this sense, the GAO review was helpful in defining where the agency can be better coordinated in our activities 

and better capture data in our engagement going forward. 

SBA’s district offices have a long history of interaction with 

HBCUs. Many of those examples I shared in my written testimony, 

and they include universities that we will hear from in the second 

panel. The agency has had strategic alliances with universities in 

Florida and Mississippi, to name a few. And five HBCU universities in North Carolina are part of our Resource Partner Network 

and host technology development centers. 

Many of our alliances and partnerships are coordinated through 

the different program offices at SBA. Our Office of Field Operations, OFO, oversees 68 district offices and close to 700 staff members. OFO leadership and district directors work with HBCUs in 

their areas, like Howard University, which also serves as an example where there is a crossover into my program office. 

My Office of Entrepreneurial Development oversees a network of 

programs and services that support small businesses. This networks includes what we commonly refer to as resource partners— 

among them, small business development centers, SBDCs. SBDCs 

are university-based grantees that match Federal funding from 

SBA with State and private funding to provide counseling and 

training to small-business entrepreneurs. Howard University 

serves as an SBDC lead center in the Washington metropolitan 

area. 

Over the last 2 years, Administrator McMahon traveled to all 68 

district offices with the purpose of seeing firsthand how our programs and services are better delivered at a local level and to better align SBA headquarters with our district offices. The result of 

these efforts will include more integrated customer service activities, including those involving engagement with HBCUs. 

Building on that, the GAO review has led to a positive internal 

discussion on how we can strengthen the initiatives going forward 

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across program offices. Among our goals will be to break down any 

existing silos within HBCU engagements, foster greater coordination with our Office of Field Operations, and ensure consistency in 

data collection. 

Madam Chair, while the agency has a good record of partnership 

with HBCUs, the agency’s past work with respect to the Executive 

orders has been inconsistent, and internal ownership of the initiatives has changed from office to office. In the future, I will take responsibility for making sure our agency is better coordinated across 

all our program offices and better in capturing and reporting on 

our activity. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to 

continuing to work with you and Committee members on this and 

other areas of mutual interest. Thank you. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you. 

Well, I would begin by recognizing myself for 5 minutes for questioning. 

Ms. Ortiz, during the investigation, did you consult with SBA’s 

regional offices, and were they familiar with the White House initiative to promote excellence and innovation at historically black 

colleges and universities? 

Ms. ORTIZ. We spoke specifically with eight of SBA’s district offices, which the agency calls their boots on the ground when it 

comes to delivering services and collaborating with local institutions. 

Of those eight offices, two told us they were not familiar with the 

White House initiative, and six said they could not comment on 

whether they were familiar with the initiative because it was a 

headquarters initiative. 

Chairwoman CHU. In your view, to what extent is outreach to 

HBCUs a priority for the SBA? 

Ms. ORTIZ. GAO’s preliminary research suggests that outreach 

to HBCUs has not been a particular priority. 

There are some cases—for example, when SBA partners with resource partners and HBCUs in their Small Business Development 

Centers, both the lead centers at Howard and the University of the 

Virgin Islands and a sub-center at Alabama State—where we see 

very effective collaboration. We also heard stories of anecdotal collaboration with district offices and local HBCUs. 

However, the lack of centralized information on district offices’ 

activities with HBCUs and the lack of a cohesive leadership strategy at SBA has really hindered, I think, its progress towards fully 

leveraging HBCUs. 

Chairwoman CHU. How well is SBA measuring its progress in 

achieving its goals and priorities related to the White House Initiative on HBCUs, which is an initiative that has been around since 

the 1980s? 

Ms. ORTIZ. GAO found that SBA had fairly limited data on its 

activities with HBCUs. It records strategic alliance memoranda, of 

which we identified 27 schools with which SBA and HBCUs had 

partnered. It also records some cosponsored activities. But, in general, specific activities that are going on at the district offices need 

not be reported back up to headquarters. So SBA doesn’t have a 

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good feel for what is going on at the local level in terms of these 

partnerships and collaborations with HBCUs. 

Chairwoman CHU. So the SBA identified in its 2018 agency plan 

for the White House Initiative on HBCUs to provide HBCUs with 

information on accessing and competing for Federal grants and 

contracts. In particular, the plan identifies the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs which SBA oversees as available resources that are underutilized by HBCUs. 

In your investigation, did the SBA perform any specified outreach or programs to promote SBIR and STTR, which have a proven record of stimulating technological innovation? 

Ms. ORTIZ. We narrowly focused our review on entrepreneurship 

programs, to encompass training and counseling, so we didn’t look 

in particular at SBIR or STTR. However, we did observe that SBA 

participated in outreach activities at some HBCUs related to those 

programs. 

Chairwoman CHU. So this was part of SBA’s 2018 annual plan. 

So were the SBA’s regional offices familiar with SBA’s 2018 annual 

plan with regard to the HBCUs? 

Ms. ORTIZ. So far as we could tell, district offices that we spoke 

with, the eight district offices we spoke with, were not generally familiar with the agency plan or the metrics for measuring outcomes 

under the initiative. 

Chairwoman CHU. Okay. 

And, Mr. Gutierrez, what are the three single most important 

steps SBA can take to strengthen the engagements with HBCUs? 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Thank you. 

I would say that, as mentioned in the oral, is that certainly the 

buck stops with me, right? So we are moving forward and ongoing 

forward in terms of three, I think, significant steps that will improve all that we have been talking about so far, which will be setting up an intra-agency working group that would hold accountable 

all the different offices, specifically Field Operations, given that 

they do a lot of boots-on-the-ground and activity in certain parts of 

the country. And I think that that is going to be a mechanism to 

really work with the different offices within SBA so we can capture 

that. 

The second part is data collection on a two-prong approach. One 

is we are going to be using the advances of technology that have 

been implemented at SBA and set up a SharePoint type of interagency, where the individuals will be able to upload their activity 

from the district offices or any offices if it is a SAM that has been 

created or activity with 8(a) or contracting or an event. 

And, thirdly, we mentioned the SBIR. We recently announced in 

a press release the SBIR tour this coming year. And we are actively looking, and we will hopefully in the next couple weeks be 

able to announce at least, minimum, two HBCUs that will participate on campus, that we will do an SBIR with them. 

Not only from that perspective, but also engage in all the different areas across the country where we are going to have the 

SBIRs, to outreach to the HBCUs so they can also promote and let 

them know the individuals, both from faculty, students, and alumni, to be able to participate as well. 

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Chairwoman CHU. Well, thank you. 

My time has now expired, and the Ranking Member, Mr. Spano, 

is now recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. SPANO. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I have a question for Ms. Ortiz. 

Thank you for being here this morning, and thank you for the 

work that you have done on this. 

GAO conducted extensive outreach, as you mentioned earlier, to 

SBA and HBCUs to complete the report. Which offices of the SBA 

provided documents and information for the report? 

Ms. ORTIZ. To clarify, are you asking about the central offices 

or the regional district offices? 

Mr. SPANO. Both. 

Ms. ORTIZ. Okay. 

We spoke with the Office of Entrepreneurial Development. We 

spoke with the Office of Strategic Alliance. We spoke with a representative from the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. 

We also spoke with eight district offices, including the Washington, D.C., office; the North Florida office; the Georgia office; the 

Maryland office; the Puerto Rico district office; and several others. 

Mr. SPANO. Which of the regional offices were responsive to 

your request for information? 

Ms. ORTIZ. All of the district offices were very responsive in 

talking with us about what activities they had. However, only a 

few of those district offices really tracked their activities. For example, the West Virginia district office informally tracks its specific 

activities with HBCUs. And the North Florida office also does some 

informal tracking of its activities with HBCUs. 

Mr. SPANO. So those were the only two. 

Ms. ORTIZ. No. In fact, all eight had some sort of information 

with respect to their activities, but in terms of tracking, the actual 

documentation is not consistent across the eight. Technically, they 

are required to report cosponsored activities back to headquarters, 

but we are not confident that we have a full record of all of those 

cosponsored activities. 

Mr. SPANO. Is it your opinion that it is typically a good idea to 

track this type of information for the GAO to offer, really, you 

know, some kind of a credible opinion about whether the program 

is effective? 

Ms. ORTIZ. Well, certainly for GAO’s sake it is good to track this 

information, but, moreover, for SBA to gauge whether it is meeting 

its own agency goals. 

Mr. SPANO. Right. 

Ms. ORTIZ. It outlines five specific goals under the agency plan, 

including number of outreach events, number of attendees, HBCU 

partnerships established, percent of HBCUs that seek Federal 

funding, and percent of HBCUs that find it useful. But it does not 

collect systematic information that would allow it to measure its 

progress on any of those goals. 

Mr. SPANO. To your understanding, what information is going 

to be included in your next report? 

Ms. ORTIZ. In our next report, we are going to be speaking more 

with district offices and also with specific HBCUs about their activities. 

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We will also be talking with SBA some more about its reporting 

and tracking activities. There is evidently an activity contact report 

that district offices use to file information back up to headquarters, 

but we don’t quite understand yet why it is that document isn’t 

used consistently or can’t be used to identify institutions with 

which SBA partners. 

Mr. SPANO. Thank you so much. 

Mr. Gutierrez, thank you for being here. And I hope you don’t 

take this as kind of an accusatory approach with you. We just want 

to kind of get to the bottom of everything and make sure we are 

providing effective services to HBCUs. 

What is it, in your opinion, that is—number one, I am assuming 

that you would agree that it is important that SBA work effectively 

with HBCUs to fulfill its purpose. 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Yes, sir. Definitely. 

Mr. SPANO. Yeah. So do you think it is practical to expect that 

you are able to obtain the information necessary for us all, you 

know, here on this dais, the House, and certainly the GAO to 

verify, in fact, we are doing what we need to be doing with respect 

to that cooperation? 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Yeah, definitely. I think that, you know, as 

mentioned, you know, there is a lot of good work that we are doing 

out in the field. And certainly with this particular GAO and working with them and working with everybody in the agency, certainly 

this is going to help us as we move forward to improve, right? 

And the improvement in terms of, as I mentioned, is really I am 

taking full responsibility, making sure that we, by the end of the 

year, have—we are implementing the systems that we can adequately be able to report what activity collectively, both from the 

field, Office of Field Operations, and other offices within the agency. 

So, definitely, I think that it is important and certainly will be— 

it is an important initiative, and we will continue to work together. 

Mr. SPANO. Thank you. Just really briefly, we talk a lot about— 

in my small-business community, we say: What gets measured gets 

done. 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Yes. 

Mr. SPANO. What gets measured gets done. And so it is important that we can measure the effectiveness of the SBA. So thank 

you for your cooperation in that regard. 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Thank you. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you. 

The gentleman’s time has expired. 

So now the gentleman, Mr. Evans from Pennsylvania, who is the 

Vice Chair of the Subcommittee, is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. EVANS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

And I too want to thank Congresswoman Adams for her leadership on this. She has been relentless, so I compliment her first and 

foremost. 

Mr. Gutierrez, you heard Ms. Ortiz, and there seems to be an inconsistency in what you are saying and what she is saying. And 

you just stated that you have three points: interagency task force, 

data collection, and the SBIR press release. How are we going to 

have confidence, after listening to the GAO report and hearing you 

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come before us and tell us this is what you plan to do for the future, how do we have confidence that that is going to become a reality? 

Because we understand the importance of the historically black 

colleges, as the Chairwoman said, to the equality system, the entrepreneurial equality system. But you have stated something, and it 

seems like you are saying one thing, but it doesn’t seem to be connected. 

So I need you to be a little bit more direct than you have been, 

in my view. Congresswoman Adams knows far more about this 

than I do, but it seems like there is an inconsistency. So do you 

want to kind of respond to what Ms. Ortiz has said? 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Definitely, yes. Thank you for the question, 

sir. 

I would say, you know, the confidence level is, you know, I am 

stating here publicly that it is under my watch now, it is my responsibility, and, moving forward, it is a priority. And we are going 

to make sure that at the next hearing, if there are any other ones, 

that I will be able to—from collectively making sure that the whole 

agency is on one page, right? 

And I think that there is a lot that we have noticed that has 

been done in the field, but in terms of what was mentioned previously by Ms. Ortiz is that, collectively, in gathering that information in the past, which I wasn’t involved with, was not something 

of the best practices. Moving forward, certainly it is something 

that, in my overview and oversight, I can guarantee you it will be 

much better. 

Mr. EVANS. But the point of—I understand the usefulness of 

these strategic alliance memorandums. And this is to both of the 

panels. Can anyone give an experience with these memorandums? 

It seems to be ceremony and symbolism. It doesn’t seem to actually 

do anything. 

I see there is the White House. They have signed this Executive 

order. And then it turns around when it comes down to your agency, who has the responsibility for implementation. That is not occurring. 

And, in the meantime, that means our constituents—in the case 

of Pennsylvania, we have Cheyney University, which was the 

first—I say to that my colleague from North Carolina—and then 

there is Lincoln University. 

Ms. ADAMS. We are the largest. 

Mr. EVANS. But the fact of the matter is, I just don’t understand. So I need you—I mean, you know, both of you to talk about 

these strategic alliances. They seem like they are not worth the 

paper they are written on. 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Yeah. If I may, certainly, you know, I would 

say that, just recently, you know, we—and I know the next panel, 

we are excited, the next panel that is coming on afterwards, because they all have either a strategic alliance or a partnership with 

SBA, recently with Shaw University and Benedict College, that we 

are moving forward. Those are new SAMs, strategic alliances, in 

terms of holding—you know, if you don’t measure them, you know, 

what good is it on paper, right? And I agree with you. 

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So, in terms of how we are moving forward with these strategic 

alliances, certainly, I know how we are going to be working together with the regional administrators at district offices and so 

forth and having joint 8(a) type of workshops or government contracting on how-to and so forth. 

So, moving forward, I can definitely say that, you know, it is not 

just a photo opportunity in that aspect. From the past, I couldn’t, 

unfortunately, answer to you on those. 

Mr. EVANS. Let me get Ms. Ortiz in. 

Ms. ORTIZ. I think it is important to realize that these strategic 

alliance memos are a really blunt instrument, and they are, by the 

agency’s own acknowledgment, largely symbolic. 

We heard from district offices that when they have a good relationship with an HBCU a strategic alliance memo is not necessary, 

so that it is possible that there are some district offices and some 

HBCUs that have had very positive experiences without having one 

of these memoranda in place. 

However, we have also heard from other colleges, such as Morehouse College, that after the SBA and Morehouse cosigned a strategic alliance memo, the university heard very little from SBA and 

felt like there was no follow-through on the SBA’s part. 

Mr. EVANS. Thank you. 

I yield back the balance of my time. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you. 

The gentleman’s time has expired. 

And now the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Burchett, is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. BURCHETT. Thank you, Chairlady, members of the Committee, Ranking Member—did I leave anybody out? Are we good?— 

staff members, everybody. Thank you all for being here. 

I guess I come to this from a different perspective. My sweet 

mama—and for the record, Chairlady, I am an unrepentant 

mama’s boy. My mama taught at Knoxville College, which was a 

wonderful school, and unfortunately it has kind of fallen on hard 

times, and we are trying to rebuild that now. 

I can remember, shortly before my mama went to heaven, that 

the president, the former president, and his wife came to my 

mama’s bed, and she was already pretty much—she was there in 

body, but I think she was pretty much already gone to heaven. And 

they prayed over her, and they sang with her, and I remember Ms. 

Turner even brushed my mama’s hair. 

So let one of our public universities try to do that. So I am kind 

of close to those folks. And when my mama died, they put her in 

their hall of fame, so that meant a lot to me and my family. And 

so I come at it from a little different angle. 

And I guess, Ms. Ortiz—did I say that right? ‘‘Ortiz’’? 

Now, two of the colleges that signed on to this alliance, strategic 

alliance, with SBA you mentioned are in Tennessee. And what can 

I do as a Congressman on this Committee to help foster that relationship between those schools and the SBA in order to grow entrepreneurship in my home State? 

I see a lot of it out there in the community, and I see young 

folks—you know, they just need something to kind of help them get 

a little boost up. And I am curious what you all have to say. 

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And thank you all again for being here. 

Ms. ORTIZ. Surely. Thank you. 

Yes, there are two colleges, or two HBCUs, in your State that 

have signed cosponsored agreements, although only one of those is 

currently not—I am sorry—I said cosponsored. I meant signed strategic alliance memo. 

Mr. BURCHETT. Yes, ma’am. 

Ms. ORTIZ. But only one of those is currently active. 

I think, as a Congressperson, supporting HBCUs, checking in 

with district offices, asking what more could be done, finding out 

what the needs of students are, are all things that could contribute 

to advancing these partnerships. 

We heard from some stakeholders that they didn’t feel that the 

mandate from Congress was strong enough in terms of outlining 

SBA-HBCU collaboration. We also heard from one professor that 

told us that building a business is the last thing on a student’s 

mind if they graduate with a lot of college debt. 

Those were not issues that were a focus of our review, but they 

are things that Congress, in its broad oversight responsibility, 

could think about and implement policies to help with. 

Mr. BURCHETT. All right. Thank you. 

Mr. Gutierrez—did I say that right? 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. You got it. 

Mr. BURCHETT. Did I get it right? 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Yes. 

Mr. BURCHETT. Say ‘‘Burchett.’’ 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Next time. 

Mr. BURCHETT. All right. Good answer. 

All right. Can you elaborate on what the SBA intends to do with 

regards to the Small Business Innovation—the program Road 

Tours? And will this be on campuses across the country or in communities? 

Because, like, Knoxville College, as I stated, it has pretty much 

gone away except for basically just somebody keeping up the buildings, and they are not able to even do that. But there is a huge 

community around there that still follows KC. I mean, the alumni 

association is still active. And when they have—actually, when 

they have reunions, there are more people on campus there than 

there are when the school was actually functioning. So—— 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Sure. I would say on the SBIR Road Tour, I 

know in previous—last year, there were some done on campus. But 

it is a combination, a two-prong approach. Some are done on incubators or host organizations, from that standpoint. But one of the 

things that I will be working with the team that oversees the SBIR 

program, STTR, is really the emphasis on having at least a minimum of two on campus. 

We are looking at—you know, coming up first is the central 

plains, southwest, and then eastern in Miami, Puerto Rico throughout this fiscal year. So we will be working on announcing those on 

that aspect, at minimum, to work with all the HBCUs to really 

make sure that they are aware of it so we can also engage them 

to participate, from that standpoint. 

I would like to also add that we recently announced seven new 

regional innovative clusters. And one of the clusters, which is 

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AgLaunch, is a combination working together with Tennessee State 

University. So that is going to be a great opportunity, and it is 

working with an HBCU, from that standpoint. 

Mr. BURCHETT. I have 6 seconds, but if you all come to east 

Tennessee, could you have somebody give me a call? I would like 

to just be a part of it. I don’t need to be recognized or anything, 

but that would be great. 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Definitely, sir. 

Mr. BURCHETT. Thank you, Chairlady. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you. 

And now the gentlelady from North Carolina, Ms. Adams, is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Ms. ADAMS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

And thank you to the witnesses for being here today, for both 

panels, actually. I do want to recognize all of the administrators 

from our HBCUs, in particular Dr. Dillard from North Carolina. 

Madam Chair, we have 10—11 HBCUs, actually. Let me just 

say, for a very long time, I have dedicated my life to HBCUs. It 

was an HBCU that took me in and moved me up the academic 

arena to get my college degree from North Carolina A&T State 

University, and I spent 40 years as a college professor at Bennett 

College, an HBCU in Greensboro. 

So I know firsthand what our HBCUs do and how important they 

are to students like me, first-generation students. So I am not 

going to go into all of the statistics that you heard our Chair—and 

I want to thank our Chair and also the Chair of the Committee, 

of the overall Committee, Chairwoman Vela ́zquez, for holding this 

hearing. 

But I do want to say that we have, through the bipartisan HBCU 

Caucus, which I founded when I came here—and I am Chairing 

that with Congressman Bradley Byrne from Alabama. And, of 

course, we put this together to expand the dialogue nationally and 

to create a level of understanding here at the Congress about how 

valuable our HBCUs are. 

And we are looking at a challenge which we unveiled, an HBCU 

partnership challenge, in 2017 to strengthen the public-private investments in HBCUs, because that is necessary. And we have 25 

companies involved right now. I do want to just shout out Live Oak 

Bank and Intel. 

I won’t go through all the impressive statistics, but what I want 

to do is to get right to my questions. But just to say, as we have 

heard, historically, HBCUs have been at a disadvantage when it 

comes to Federal resources. 

I have heard you talk about collaboration. I am hoping, if nothing else is remembered, that we can move from collaboration to 

contracts. Because, you know, words are words, and they mean 

things, but we have to do more than just talk the talk; we must 

walk it too. 

But let me just begin with my first question. To Mr. Gutierrez, 

you testified and you mentioned that the SBA has a long history 

of working with HBCUs, including signing the strategic alliances. 

But your colleague mentioned that they are largely symbolic. 

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And I certainly appreciate the commitment that you are making 

here publicly, and we certainly want to follow you and hope that 

that will happen. 

I don’t personally think there is a lot going on with the White 

House initiative, quite frankly. I am going to be real honest about 

that. I think that is symbolic too, and we have to move past that. 

But let me ask you, do you believe that HBCUs play an important role in our society? 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Definitely, they do. 

Ms. ADAMS. All right. 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. All do. Definitely. 

Ms. ADAMS. Right. 

Now, you mentioned that you had some plans to initiate—or you 

didn’t say—you said strategic partnerships. What are your plans to 

initiate contracts with HBCUs? Because I understand there are 

only two, really, right now. You have 24 partnerships; you have 2 

contracts. 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Yeah, the two grantees, those are through the 

SBDC network, definitely. 

One thing that I—in my recent meeting last week, in looking at 

the multiplier effect and working with the other agencies as well, 

for example, Department of Energy, USDA, and so forth, in terms 

of, really, us being the conduit and helping on HBCUs with regards 

to the counseling and training, and then combining that with the 

opportunity of funding from the other agencies to really work as a 

win-win trifecta approach, from that standpoint. That is one way. 

Ms. ADAMS. Right. Okay. 

Ms. Ortiz, I want to thank you for actually getting busy and getting the study done. But small businesses are the backbone of our 

economy. How can SBA and the Federal Government better ensure 

that HBCU students are equipped with the tools and the resources 

to launch successful entrepreneurial endeavors? 

You have about 19 seconds. 

Ms. ORTIZ. Okay. 

SBA, right now, has a plan. It has mandates under the White 

House Initiative. It has its own stated goals under its agency plan. 

With a cohesive leadership strategy that focuses on this effort, 

increases communication with district offices about expectations, 

and sets some minimum record-keeping standards in order to make 

sure that we are really capturing the extent of SBA activities at 

the local level with HBCUs, SBA could definitely make progress toward that goal. 

Ms. ADAMS. Thank you very much. 

And thank you all for your testimony. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

And I want to invite you to come to North Carolina. We can have 

a roundtable. We can bring all of our HBCU presidents and administrators together. We think we can help you. 

Thank you very much. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you. 

And now the gentlelady from Pennsylvania, Ms. Houlahan, is 

recognized for 5 minutes. 

Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

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And thank you very much for coming and speaking with us 

today. 

I have so many questions, and I don’t actually know where to 

start. I do agree with one of the prior folks who says it is very important to measure what matters, right? And if we are not measuring it, then we don’t know where we are and the state of where 

we are. 

But I actually would like to know the inverse. Do we measure 

in non-historically black colleges the impact and reach of the SBA? 

Ms. ORTIZ. Yes. 

Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you. 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. No, yes, we do. You know, Ms. Ortiz mentioned about the activity contact report that is done by all the district offices and all the activity that is done, what we do with all 

the different stakeholders in the communities and the partnerships 

and so forth as it relates to the different lanes, if it is counseling, 

if it is access to capital, if it is government contract, business development, if it is on the unfortunate side of disaster assistance and 

so forth. So we do track all that. 

And, certainly, from our standpoint, from the Office of Entrepreneurial Development, we do, through the CBJ, or CJ, congressional 

justification, on a yearly basis upload those numbers and report 

them here to Congress. 

Ms. HOULAHAN. So I represent the Sixth District in Pennsylvania. And, arguably, according to my research, Lincoln University 

is the Nation’s oldest HBCU that is a degree-awarding university. 

And I actually am fascinated by the fact that it would appear as 

though there hasn’t been any outreach from the SBA. It looks like, 

from my research as well, that there are two offices that potentially 

could have contact with them—one that is about 40 miles away, 

one that is about 60 miles away. Although that is a long distance, 

it is not an impenetrable distance. 

Is there anything that you can think of, aside from having not 

measured this before, that would have prohibited SBA from contacting Lincoln University or having some sort of a relationship 

with them? 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. What I would say is that, certainly, we will 

follow up with our district offices in surrounding areas. And as I 

mentioned, in terms of moving forward, certainly, it is not just 

those three areas that I mentioned about, but certainly an ongoing 

communication and outreach and really working with the head, my 

peer, in the Office of Field Operations, the AA, associate administrator, to really continue to stress and work with the district offices, the regional administrators, and so forth. 

I was just in Pennsylvania, I forgot to mention to both of you, 

last month, meeting with all the lenders as well as all the different 

stakeholders on how we can continue to make ongoing impact in 

the great State of Pennsylvania. So we will continue to do that. 

Ms. HOULAHAN. And do you have any idea, maybe off the top 

of your head, or could you get me the information, about colleges 

within the greater Philadelphia area that do have an existing relationship, just so that I can compare and contrast? 

Because we are, I think, second to Boston in terms of the number 

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graphical area, and I would love to know just how many of them 

you already are working with. 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Definitely. I will definitely get that from my 

staff and provide that to you. 

Ms. HOULAHAN. And what do you think, short of having to 

have a formal relationship or a strategic alliance, do you have to 

do to be able to have a relationship with Lincoln University? Does 

it take a formal agreement, or can there be something that is informal? 

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Yeah, that is a great question. That is what 

I was going to follow up on, on Ms. Ortiz’s comment there. You 

know, maybe in the past, unfortunately, that was the case, but not 

necessarily how we are moving forward. It is not going to require 

a SAM to be able to have the district director offices to really engage and work with all. 

Certainly, you know, ongoing from this administration is how we 

can do much better in all different facets and also in rural America 

as well. So all these components come together, really, on holding 

the outcomes related that we want from all the district offices in 

that aspect to put the pedal to the metal. 

Ms. HOULAHAN. Thank you very much for that. 

And I guess my last comment is more of a comment rather than 

a question. 

Ms. Ortiz, you mentioned that people had given you feedback 

that it was hard to get traction when people were worried about 

their student debt and their student loans rather than worried 

about being an entrepreneur. I was fortunate. I had ROTC scholarships that allowed me to graduate without any debt, and I was able 

to be a successful entrepreneur as a consequence. 

But there is, actually, pending legislation that is about exactly 

that issue, which is supporting young entrepreneurs who have 

ideas in underserved communities and want to be entrepreneurial 

and do have student debt, to either have it forgiven or reduced in 

some ways. 

And so I would advocate for the Supporting America’s Young Entrepreneurs Act, because I think that is something that would 

allow people to be able to reduce their debt and also be entrepreneurial at the same time. 

And thank you. I yield the rest of my time. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you very much. 

And thank you to our distinguished panel for taking the time to 

walk us through our many questions. I am sure we will stay in 

touch on this issue as we work towards greater collaboration between the HBCUs and the SBA. You are now excused. 

And we will now take a moment while we get our next panel set 

up. 

Okay. We would like to call our second panel up. 

And I would like to take a minute now to introduce each of you 

before turning it over for testimony. 

Our first witness is Dr. Paulette Dillard, the president of Shaw 

University. Dr. Dillard is the 18th president of Shaw University, 

and she previously served as the university’s vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 

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Dr. Dillard graduated from Barber-Scotia College in Concord, 

North Carolina. She received her Master of Business Administration from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a Master of Science in biology from Tennessee State University. She 

earned her Ph.D. in biological sciences from Atlanta University. 

Welcome, Dr. Dillard. 

Our second witness is Dr. Barron H. Harvey, the dean of the 

Business School at Howard University. Under the longstanding 

leadership of Dr. Harvey, Howard University Business School has 

been continuously ranked among the top business programs in the 

Nation. 

Dr. Harvey is an internationally renowned business management 

training specialist and has appeared in many television programs 

to discuss business issues and cultural diversity. He has also published numerous scholarly works and founded several organizations, including the HBCU Business Deans Roundtable. 

Dr. Harvey earned a Master of Business Administration in accounting and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior and management 

theory from the University of Nebraska. 

Welcome, Dr. Harvey. 

Our third witness is Dr. Michael Casson, the dean of the College 

of Business at Delaware State University. He is the founding executive director of the University Center for Economic Development 

and International Trade. 

He received his undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University, a master’s in economics from the University of Wisconsin, and 

a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from the University 

of Connecticut. He belongs to numerous professional organizations 

and has published a number of reports on topics, including AfricanAmerican small business and workforce inclusion. 

Welcome, Dr. Casson. 

I would now like to yield to our Ranking Member, Mr. Spano, to 

introduce our final witness. 

Mr. SPANO. Thank you, Chairwoman Chu. 

It is my honor to introduce our final witness, Dr. Roslyn Clark 

Artis. 

Dr. Artis is the first female president for two education institutions, first at Florida Memorial University in Miami, Florida, and 

now at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. Last year, 

she was named the female president of the year by HBCU Digest 

and was recognized as a woman of influence by the Columbia Regional Business Report. 

Dr. Artis is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she 

earned a doctorate in higher education leadership and policy. She 

also holds a Juris Doctorate from West Virginia University College 

of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from an 

HBCU, West Virginia State University. 

Thank you so much for joining us today, Dr. Artis. We appreciate 

your expertise. 

I yield back. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you very much. 

And now, Dr. Dillard, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

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STATEMENTS OF PAULETTE DILLARD, PH.D., PRESIDENT, 

SHAW UNIVERSITY, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA; BARRON H. 

HARVEY, PH.D., DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, HOWARD UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D.C.; MICHAEL H. CASSON, 

JR., PH.D., DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, DELAWARE 

STATE UNIVERSITY, DOVER, DELAWARE; AND ROSLYN 

CLARK ARTIS, PH.D., PRESIDENT AND CEO, BENEDICT COLLEGE, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA 

STATEMENT OF PAULETTE DILLARD, PH.D. 

Dr. DILLARD. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. 

My name, as you have heard, is Dr. Paulette Dillard. I serve as the 

18th president of Shaw University. 

Shaw is a proud historically black college and university founded 

in 1865 and is the first HBCU in the South, located in Raleigh, 

North Carolina. With a mission to advance knowledge, facilitate 

student learning and achievement, to enhance the spiritual and 

ethical values of its students, and to transform a diverse community of learners into future global leaders, it is clear that Shaw is 

committed to student success. 

I was asked to testify before the Subcommittee about Shaw’s experiences and relationship with the Small Business Administration. 

Shaw currently has a strategic alliance memorandum with the 

SBA. The initial SAM was signed on January 13, 2013. This contractual agreement with SBA, through the North Carolina district 

office, has a purpose of developing and fostering a working relationship to strengthen small businesses in the local area. 

As part of that partnership, Shaw opened what is called the 

Small Business Resource Center, and that center was opened in 

fall of 2013. The SBRC partnership with the SBA provides the following: office space that includes a reception and resource materials area; a conference room for meetings and for workshops; an 

employee dedicated to managing and facilitating the activities; and 

assistance to students and members of the Raleigh community with 

resources to start, finance, and operate a successful business. 

Not only does the SBA help to provide materials and services for 

the SBRC, but the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center that is 

a partnership with Shaw also serves as a partner, and Shaw is able 

to host seminars and workshops on a variety of business subjects. 

The SBA office and the surrounding business community provide 

resources and presenters for these activities. In addition, the SBA 

provides small-business resource materials, including pamphlets, 

brochures, website resource references, and contacts with key business community leaders. 

Although Shaw has been able to benefit from the SAM, there is 

much more that we believe can be done. We believe that, in addition to workshops, it would be wonderful to be able to extend those 

workshops to include certifications that would allow students to be 

reasonably employed by small businesses in the community in 

which we reside. 

In addition, access to websites that are owned by the SBA, to be 

able to readily provide information targeted to the questions that 

small businesses have at the moment. In addition, it would be 

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helpful if the SBRC at Shaw University had the benefit of a 

website social media link directly to the SBA. 

I would like to thank Chairwoman Vela ́zquez, Representative 

Alma Adams, and the remaining members of Congress for requesting that the Government Accountability Office look into SBA’s relationship with entrepreneurs and HBCUs. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you, Dr. Dillard. 

Dr. Harvey, you are now recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF BARRON H. HARVEY, PH.D. 

Dr. HARVEY. Good morning. I want to express my appreciation 

to the Honorable Judy Chu and the Honorable Ross Spano and distinguished members of the Subcommittee for this opportunity to 

testify in support of enhancing and expanding SBA’s partnership 

with historically black colleges and universities. 

I would also like to thank the Honorable Alma Adams for her advocacy on behalf of HBCUs and who has created this wonderful opportunity for us to share information. 

HBCUs represent a wonderful opportunity for the U.S. Small 

Business Administration to have greater impact and expand its 

programs and allow for more innovative kinds of programs and activities. 

Howard University has had a great relationship with SBA and 

has hosted a lead SBD center for the last 4 years. However, in the 

time that I have, I would like to share recommendations that I 

think could be impactful going forward for SBA. 

First and foremost, I think the small business development centers, in concert with HBCUs, should develop more college credit entrepreneurship training programs that will have a focus on students, particularly those in the sciences, technology, engineering, 

health, and medicine. 

I would also like to challenge the SBA to require the small business development centers to track the number of students, particularly those of color, that they are able to attract to their program’s 

workshops and activities. 

I would also like to recommend to SBA that they encourage small 

business development centers with HBCUs to develop a student 

externship program, where students in business, engineering, technology, and the sciences can provide much-needed consulting services for African-American, women-owned, and minority-owned 

small businesses in their communities. 

My next recommendation is that it is important that a serious 

and enriching and developing partnership with SBA would also 

have funding for HBCU faculty and its graduate students to conduct, on an annual basis, research about the problems and opportunities and challenges that are confronting African-American entrepreneurs and minority entrepreneurs and women in their specific 

community and geographic location. 

One of the major challenges also, which we have heard, confronting African-American and minority entrepreneurs, has to do 

with access to capital, no question about it. I would like to recommend to SBA that, in partnership with HBCUs, that they develop a SBA loan candidacy program which would be designed to 

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prepare minority and women loan applicants for SBA-guaranteed 

loans. 

As you know, the information that is contained in the literature 

today, many of minority and African-American entrepreneurs won’t 

even apply for an SBA-guaranteed loan, for fear of rejection. This 

kind of program would address that issue. 

I have heard that Mr. Gutierrez has spoken about the Road 

Show for the Technology Transfer program that is administered 

through the SBA and other government agencies. My recommendation is that they expand that program to have a 2-year cycle to 

visit as many HBCUs it can, with a goal of at least 80 in a year. 

I would also like to suggest that the SBA convene a conference 

with SBA district directors, executive directors of small business 

development centers, and the National HBCU Business Deans 

Roundtable to engage in a dialogue about ways to expand and impact future strategies around helping HBCUs work with AfricanAmerican and minority entrepreneurs. 

My overarching recommendation to SBA is to implement a 

unique and special partnership with HBCUs, including expanding 

the number of SBDC sub-centers at HBCUs from 16 to 50 over the 

next 36 months. 

Thank you for this opportunity to present this testimony on behalf of historically black colleges and universities. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you, Dr. Harvey. 

And now, Dr. Casson, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL H. CASSON, JR., PH.D. 

Dr. CASSON. Good morning. I would like to thank the Subcommittee for the opportunity to share my testimony. I will start 

by just speaking about our current relationship with SBDC or SBA. 

Delaware State University currently has—or has been a lead 

SBDC from 2001 to 2013, has also served as a site location, and 

has received PRIME Grant award funding, which we used to actually start a mobile entrepreneurship training initiative. 

Now, this SBA support has provided specific clients with invaluable insight and resources for furthering their own enterprises. 

However, the impact of the SBA’s funding and services could be exponentially more significant if the university and the SBA strategically work together to develop a targeted programming that effectively integrates the talent and resources of both entities. 

So, to this end, there are three areas of focus that the SBA can 

engage the university that will further both of our missions: first, 

infrastructure; second, alumni community partnerships; and, third, 

student engagement. 

So, regarding infrastructure, not unlike many universities across 

the country, research, teaching, and service represents the three 

pillars of higher education. However, there is one distinct difference when comparing HBCUs and predominantly white institutions: their ability to effectively monetize their research and service. 

HBCUs have traditionally and currently focused their revenuegeneration efforts on the enterprise of teaching, pressing their respective admissions offices to increase enrollment to support growing financial gaps, with little attention being given to research and 

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service. Contrarily, universities such as John Hopkins and the University of Washington garner up to $2 billion in Federal funding 

alone for their research and service activities. 

These institutions have effectively leveraged their full capacity of 

their brain trust by deploying the expertise of their faculty, staff, 

and students to solve many of the world’s most challenging problems. The ability of these universities to effectively and efficiently 

deploy their resources for the public good is not by chance but, 

rather, by design. And it is this design that our university and 

many other HBCUs could utilize the expertise within the SBA to 

develop further. 

SBA opportunities such as SBIR and STTR, in addition to the 

billions of products and services needs of the Federal Government 

and private sector, requires a university’s infrastructure that is designed to leverage its assets both immediately and efficiently. For 

example, the SBA can play a critical knowledge role in HBCUs’ 

pursuit of the creation of centers of excellence designed to respond 

to global products and service needs through innovation. 

Regarding alumni community, the fastest growing population of 

entrepreneurs are African-Americans, specifically African-American 

women. However, even with this high propensity to become their 

own boss, African-Americans’ road to business stability and expansion is paved with limited resources to capital, professional network, and technical know-how. 

However, a viable partnership between HBCUs and the SBA, 

uniquely weaving and tailoring our various assets, could provide 

the necessary platform to engage the African-American small-business community as well as plug the resource gaps. 

For example, HBCUs are uniquely linked to African-American 

community organizations such as fraternities and sororities, ministerial alliances, urban leagues, agricultural associations, all of 

whom have economic development as part of their mission. 

Moreover, DSU, like many other HBCUs, have a large first-generation population, representing many of the metropolitan areas of 

the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Thus, the SBA, in partnership 

with HBCUs, can create a network of services that extends into the 

communities that they represent. 

Finally, student engagement. Per a recent Young Entrepreneur 

Foundation survey, 90 percent of teachers and guidance counselors 

say their students are interested in becoming entrepreneurs. However, 75 percent of them say that their students have no idea 

where to go for guidance. Unfortunately, the cultivation of this phenomenon amongst incoming freshman and upperclassmen is often 

absent at our HBCUs due to lack of resources and/or capacity. 

However, a strategic partnership with the SBA could be vital in 

our efforts to design and provide this type of knowledge and skill 

base via curricular and co-curricular activities. For example, the establishment of multidisciplinary innovation labs, shared entrepreneurship ideation spaces, and skills trainings are all areas where 

the SBA resources and expertise could play a vital role in the development of our students’ business acumen. 

Thank you. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you, Dr. Casson. 

And now, Dr. Artis, you are now recognized for 5 minutes. 

SBD026 with DISTILLER

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STATEMENT OF ROSLYN CLARK ARTIS, J.O. ED.D. 

Dr. ARTIS. Chairwoman Chu, Ranking Member Spano, members 

of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify here 

today. 

I serve as the 14th president of Benedict College. Founded in 

1870 by Bathsheba A. Benedict, the institution is a private, coeducational liberal arts institution with 2,200 students enrolled in its 

34 baccalaureate degree programs as of the 2017-2018 academic 

year. 

Benedict has been highly regarded and exceptionally ranked for 

its programs by several academic and traditional publications, including the Washington Monthly magazine, as one of the top baccalaureate colleges in the Nation for creating social mobility and producing cutting-edge research and scholarship. 

I have been asked to testify before the Subcommittee about Benedict’s experiences and relationship with the Small Business Administration. 

Benedict has a college-sponsored business development center located on its campus, and the center currently has a strategic alliance memorandum, or SAM, with the SBA. The initial SAM was 

signed by Benedict on October 30, 2013, and the most recent SAM 

was signed on April 9, 2019. This agreement with the SBA, facilitated by the South Carolina district office, is designed to help start, 

maintain, and expand small businesses. 

Through this agreement, since 2013, Benedict has been able to 

host three SBA Business Roundtable discussions in 2013, 2014, 

and 2015 respectively; complete an agreement with the FDIC regional office to utilize the Money Smart financial literacy curriculum with Benedict College students and community residents 

in 2014; host a business management training course for local entrepreneurs NX Level Training in 2016; and partner with the 

Benedict-Allen Community Development Center to provide technical assistance pertaining to marketing, accounting, and management to borrowers of the CDC’s Benedict Minority Loan Fund from 

2013 to 2016. 

Most recently, we have been able to restructure the technical assistance and incubator programs within the BDC, and, finally, to 

create a student innovation hub program within our BDC in 2018. 

Clearly, Benedict has been able to benefit from the SAM and the 

SBA. However, there are improvements that could be implemented 

to further enhance the relationship between the two entities: as 

part of the SAM, developing an action plan or timetable of program 

activities or events that can be implemented in partnership with 

Benedict and the SBA; designating specific resources, program 

funds, staffs, et cetera, that can be utilized by both parties for use 

in implementing the SAM; assisting the college through the use of 

new and existing SBA relationships; strengthening the SAM by 

committing financial resources from SBA to assist with business 

technical assistance through the college’s BDC; and having SBA 

provide co-branding and marketing support with Benedict College 

and others to assist with marketing capacity and increase awareness in the surrounding communities of the services provided 

through the relationship with the SBA. 

SBD026 with DISTILLER

24 

I would like to thank Chairwoman Nydia Vela ́zquez, Representative Alma Adams, and the remaining members of Congress for requesting that the Government Accountability Office look into SBA’s 

entrepreneurship efforts with HBCUs. 

We have learned that SBA’s goals, as identified in their 2018 

strategic plan submitted to the Secretary of Education and the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs, were to: 

one, raise awareness and provide information that would help raise 

the capacity of HBCUs to participate in federally funded programs; 

and, two, promote collaboration among HBCUs and SBA resource 

partners in district offices. 

In an effort to accomplish goal number one, both the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer 

programs were mentioned. SBA indicates that these programs are 

underutilized by HBCUs. But what the report fails to disclose is 

that funding requested for these very same programs in the fiscal 

year 2020 budget request was significantly lower, at $3 million, 

compared to the $5.99 million that was enacted in fiscal year 2019, 

a $2.99 million decrease. 

SBA’s stated goals are a direct response to the Executive Order 

13779, and the 116th Congress has taken measures to codify this 

Executive order. While the United States Senate has already 

passed 461, the HBCU Propelling Agency Relationships Towards a 

New Era of Results for Students—PARTNERS—Act, there remains 

concern in the HBCU community regarding this legislation and 

whether or not it goes far enough to truly increase transparency 

within the Federal Government. H.R. 1054, the HBCU PARTNERS 

Act, is similar to the Senate bill but includes stronger provisions 

that would be supported by the HBCU community. 

In conclusion, HBCUs are valuable institutions that not only contribute to society but provide an invaluable experience for our students, especially those who are low-wealth, first-generation. I hope 

to see greater collaboration between the Small Businesses Administration and HBCUs and also hope to see meaningful legislation 

passed in the 116th Congress to truly strengthen the Executive 

Order 13779. 

Thank you. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you so much. We appreciate all that 

you shared with us. 

And now I will begin by recognizing myself for questioning for 5 

minutes. 

And this question is for any number of people that wish to respond on the panel. 

HBCUs are fostering innovation for a disproportionate percentage of low-income and middle-income students across the country. 

They offer tremendous opportunities to drive economic growth, particularly in underserved communities. 

In your view, what is the most impactful thing the SBA can do 

to help minority entrepreneurs overcome challenges and develop a 

clear path to small-business ownership? 

Dr. HARVEY. From my perspective, I think very strongly that 

there should be a greater partnership around the programs that 

SBDC offers and the ability for our HBCU students to access those 

SBD026 with DISTILLER

25 

programs. It also would be helpful if, as I stated in my brief remarks, that these programs be credit-granting as well. 

I believe very strongly that there is a great opportunity for SBA 

and HBCUs to really educate the next generation of entrepreneurs 

by making sure that they are aware of not only the opportunities 

and challenges but also the programs that are offered by the SBA. 

When it is time for them to make that move, they will be very 

knowledgeable about how to navigate the SBA resources that will 

help them be successful. 

Chairwoman CHU. Anyone else? 

Dr. DILLARD. I would like to add that many of our HBCUs are 

located in underserved communities, and there are a number of 

small businesses in those communities that could benefit from having students help to get those businesses up and running. 

I think that in addition to credit, I think there is great value to 

having certification-type workshops that you don’t just attend for 

a couple of hours a day but that you participate in a series of workshops that yields a credential that is useful for the small business 

that you would be participating in, and you would have an opportunity to expand the community as well as the student learning. 

And I think it is an incredible opportunity. 

Chairwoman CHU. Okay. 

Dr. CASSON. So I guess the first thing I would say is, if we believe that—or if we subscribe to the notion that necessity is the 

mother of invention, then not providing the resources to these communities just doesn’t make sense. We have incredibly talented 

youth and adults in these communities that are looking for opportunities to become entrepreneurs. 

Having said that, I think the coordination of the dollars as well. 

So, working with the Economic Development Administration, for 

instance, and trying to create entrepreneurial ecosystems and 

thinking about how the Economic Development Administration can 

work or partner with the SBA and/or other community organizations, using the HBCU as the impetus for those type of engagements I think would be extremely impactful. 

Dr. ARTIS. Recognizing time limitations, awareness, accountability, and access. 

Awareness to the various opportunities provided by the SBA, including technical assistance and certainly micro-lending and other 

financial supports for young people who want to start businesses 

and simply don’t know how to acquire resources necessary to do the 

same. 

Accountability by virtue of the tracking that has been discussed 

here extensively here today. 

And, finally, thinking through ways to improve capacity on the 

part of small businesses. We know that, as small businesses begin 

to grow, one of the biggest challenges for them, insurance, bonding 

capacity and the ability to compete for government contracts. So 

let’s not limit ourselves to simply thinking about small mom-andpop businesses but, rather, developing capacity among these businesses in low-resourced, underserved communities that can really 

develop capacity and strengthen our country. 

Chairwoman CHU. And, again, for anybody on the panel, in the 

limited time I have left: Are you familiar with SBA’s 2018 annual 

SBD026 with DISTILLER

26 

plan, which was developed in response to the White House initiative promoting excellence and innovation at historically black colleges and universities? Can you provide feedback on this plan and 

on what more can be done to foster an ongoing dialogue between 

SBA and HBCUs? 

Dr. DILLARD. I am familiar with the 2018 strategic plan, and 

I have some concerns about the gaps in the transparency of the organization in responding to some of the criteria within the plan. 

When you can answer a statement with a one-syllable ‘‘yes’’ or 

none, then it causes concerns about how, valid is that plan and 

how intentional. 

So I would like to see some attention to requiring action items 

and plans and explanations for why particular aspects of the plan 

are not achieved. 

Chairwoman CHU. Okay. 

My time has expired, and so the Ranking Member, Mr. Spano, 

is now recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. SPANO. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I just want to say initially, we have been involved in some 

mentorship programs in the small-business space back home in our 

district for several years. I just think they are incredibly exciting, 

incredibly effective. 

Dr. Harvey, you mentioned an externship program. 

Dr. Casson, you mentioned the possibility of an alumni 

mentorship program. 

I mean, imagine a scenario where have alumni community partners who are engaged in, you know, a program that provides 

mentorship and externship programs for students. I mean, I get 

chills thinking about it and talking about it. How incredibly exciting that would be. To me, boy, SBA could really play a vital role 

in something like that. So I am excited about that. 

I have a general question. And correct me if I am wrong. My understanding is that part of the impetus in placing these SBDCs in 

HBCUs, in addition to the other campuses across the country, part 

of it was to facilitate small-business growth, encouragement in the 

surrounding community itself, and part of it is to encourage the 

student body there in their small-business efforts and desires and 

whatnot. 

So what is the proper balance? What has been the balance, looking back? And what is the proper balance between those two efforts 

moving forward? 

Dr. HARVEY. From my perspective at Howard University, having a lead center, the ideal balance would be kind of an equal perspective. That is, there will be faculty as well student and graduate 

students participating in many of the SBDC’s programs, workshops, and activities, while still working with—SBDC working with 

the community itself and working with entrepreneurs surrounding 

Howard University. 

However, the balance is really focused more on the entrepreneurs 

in the surrounding community, because those are also the areas in 

which they are held accountable and have to measure. And for as 

long as I have been the prime investigator on my SBA grant, I 

have constantly advocated for more information being available to 

SBD026 with DISTILLER

27 

make sure that the SBDC knew that they had an obligation to 

work more with our students and our faculty. 

Dr. CASSON. If I could add, I think the question also hinges on 

the entrepreneurialship of the university itself. So I think if a university, or HBCU in this case, is entrepreneurial in is endeavors, 

so it is currently engaging in prospective opportunities such as 

SBIR or just across the board, then that community engagement 

will happen naturally, right? Because your university is already 

part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and entrepreneurial community. 

So that goes to my original point when I was speaking about infrastructure and the importance of infrastructure for an HBCU to 

understand how to become entrepreneurial as an entity in and of 

itself. 

Dr. DILLARD. I think that it is very important that it be recognized as almost equally balanced. Because, by virtue of where we 

are located, the engagement with students, with faculty, with community, we have determined that it is an incredible partnership between all of those stakeholders. And we find that, by having entrepreneurial thinking with the students, they are engaged with the 

small businesses. And we are using Shaw as that central location, 

in our case, to bring all of these groups together. And it, once 

again, has amazing potential if it is appropriately resourced. 

Mr. SPANO. Uh-huh. 

Dr. Artis? 

Dr. ARTIS. You have obviously asked a great question. Everybody feels the need to chime in. 

I would agree that a 50/50 balance is perhaps most appropriate. 

Historically, Benedict has focused outwardly on the community, 

developing the surrounding areas and engaging young entrepreneurs in the neighborhoods in which we live, work, and play. 

Most of our HBCUs are not simply located in a community; they 

are of the community. They are a microcosm of the communities 

that they serve. And so it is critically important that we continue 

that outward focus. 

At Benedict, we have created a student innovation hub that I am 

very excited about and hope to bring to life through the SBA SAM, 

where our students are actually engaged by businesses around the 

campus to solve real-world problems. They are having the opportunity to apply what they are learning in the classroom to serve 

a small business who could not otherwise afford that consulting 

support. 

And so the students are learning and growing, the small businesses are developing, and it is a symbiotic relationship between 

the institution and the community. And that is the kind of thing 

we would like to grow and continue to perpetuate. 

Mr. SPANO. Wow. So exciting. Thank you. 

Madam Chair, I yield back. 

Chairwoman CHU. Okay. Thank you. 

The gentleman yields back. 

And now the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Evans, who is 

the Vice Chair of the Subcommittee, is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. EVANS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

SBD026 with DISTILLER

28 

I would like to ask the panel—I want to kind of follow up on 

these SAM agreements in terms of effectiveness versus non-effectiveness and would like for each one of you to talk about your experiences. 

Because you sort of heard Ms. Ortiz state the question about, 

this is really based on relationships. That is kind of what I heard. 

And then, also, my good colleague from the great State of North 

Carolina talked about those who just talk about it versus those 

who have contracts. 

So I need you, in a very specific way—you have your chance to 

tell us, has this been effective or has it not? 

Start wherever you want. 

Dr. DILLARD. I will begin. 

I have a SAM. I have had one—the original one was signed in 

2013. We created the office, and we have great relationships with 

the SBA district office. 

What we do not have is a specific plan of engagement to how to 

actualize what is laid out in the agreement. And, we have found 

that the office is very cooperative, but it is not a plan where we 

have specific, outcomes and targets that we are working towards. 

But to address that, SBA has been a partner as we have created 

other partners. And so, together, we sort of are trying to work 

through this. 

But it would be of great benefit if the plans had, or the agreements had, actual commitments associated with them other than 

the ability to access the resources that are available through SBA 

with some kind of definitive commitment. Because we are, as has 

been stated earlier, under-resourced, and resources are, a major 

need to make these agreements actual and effective in our communities. 

Dr. HARVEY. Howard University has a great relationship with 

the SBA. That may, in fact, be having had a lead center since 1999. 

But, also, it may, in fact, be reflective of the fact that we are also 

here in Washington, D.C., with the district office. So we have 

strong communications, great interactions. 

However, my perspective as the dean of the School of Business 

is that there is more that can be done and more innovation can 

move forward. But I want to state categorically that we do have a 

great relationship with the SBA. 

Dr. CASSON. So, at Delaware State University, again, we serve 

several different capacities as a lead SBDC and also currently as 

a site. I think, effectively, in my experience, the office has been 

more outreaching and not necessarily in-reaching to the students. 

And I think there are a lot of opportunities there, again, to grow 

the student acumen and then leverage that for further developing 

the community efforts, which the SBA has pretty much focused on 

in our area. 

Dr. ARTIS. I think what you are seeing is a consistent theme: 

Individual institutions have meaningful relationships with district 

offices. And those typically are in, if you will look, Raleigh, D.C.— 

think about Delaware State’s location. We are in a capital city. We 

have a district office in our city. 

And so you heard the Representative from Pennsylvania articulate the 40-mile distance, the 60-mile distance. Many of the instituSBD026 with DISTILLER

29 

tions that serve low-wealth, first-generation students of color in 

this country are not located in urban areas, they are not located 

in capital cities. 

It is incumbent upon the SBA to outreach to those institutions, 

for they do not have the capacity to engage. We continue to see the 

language ‘‘underutilized by HBCUs.’’ That language is offensive to 

me. HBCUs simply do not have the staffing, the resources, and the 

capacity to go and ferret out these opportunities. 

If the SBA’s commitment is firm to these institutions and to 

these communities, it is incumbent upon them to adopt a more active, engaged approach to reach into these HBCU communities and 

the neighborhoods in which they serve to ensure that the resources 

are made available and that the onus and the pressure is not 

placed on an under-resourced institution to go out and find them 

and scratch and claw and dig for those resources. 

Mr. EVANS. Real quick, Madam Chair, I just want to get in one 

comment, because I know my time is up. 

And maybe it is because I didn’t ask my question clear enough. 

I want to make a distinction between relationship and effectiveness. So I will leave my comment with that. I heard about relationship, but I want to ask about effectiveness, meaning in terms of 

outcomes. I understand about relationships. You know, you can 

have a relationship, and that is fine. But what exactly does it mean 

for the constituencies that you are representing? 

So I would just yield back the balance of my time. Thank you, 

Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman CHU. Thank you. 

And now the gentlelady from North Carolina, Ms. Adams, is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Ms. ADAMS. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. 

And to both of my madam presidents and brother deans, thank 

you for taking the time to participate today. 

Our schools have incredible success stories to share. And with equitable resources and investment, our schools’ and our students’ 

limits would be endless. We have done a lot with a little for greater 

than a century. And some of our schools are, Madam Chair, 150 

years old. But yet we have continued to produce and produce and 

produce. 

Now, Dr. Dillard and Dr. Artis, you both mentioned strategic alliance memos. And if I heard you right, first of all, when did SBA 

reach out to you to set up the most recent strategic alliance 

memos? 

Dr. ARTIS. As indicated in the record, our original was 2013, 

and most recently April 9 of 2019. 

Ms. ADAMS. Dr. Dillard? 

Dr. DILLARD. January 13, 2013, was the first one. The most recent, April 9, 2019. 

Ms. ADAMS. So we are talking about a 6-year gap. It doesn’t 

sound like much has happened in between that time, to me. Now, 

if I am wrong, somebody correct me. They haven’t had a whole lot 

going on in those 6 years. 

Dr. ARTIS. We have had an average of one to two engagements 

per year in the span between 2013 and 2016 at Benedict College. 

Ms. ADAMS. Dr. Dillard? 

SBD026 with DISTILLER

30 

Dr. DILLARD. Similar at Shaw. We have had a number of workshops, we have partnered with other entities to do some things, but 

it has been pretty much similar to what Benedict has described. 

Ms. ADAMS. Right. Okay. So it sounds like—I was I listening to 

my colleague here—we need a little teeth in the plan. It is almost 

like sometimes we give mandates and no money. And so, in that 

sense, I think we do need to provide some support there. 

But, Dr. Dillard, in your capacity as president of Shaw, would 

you discuss a little bit the benefits of your unique entrepreneurial 

project, particularly to the students and the surrounding communities? I mean, you have touched on some of that. 

Dr. DILLARD. Shaw University partnered with an organization, 

the Carolina Small Business Development Fund, for the purpose of 

creating an innovation and entrepreneurship center. And the focus 

of that center has been on student development as entrepreneurs. 

So we have had great participation from the business community, from some of the SBA offices, like SCORE, in helping us to 

promote students in innovation and entrepreneurship. We have 

had pitch contests, as Dr. Artis has mentioned. 

But our IEC has been a very important link to the community, 

because not only have we had our students engaged, but we have 

been engaged with as many as 20 new business startups a year as 

part of a program to get more entrepreneurs into business in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Ms. ADAMS. Okay. 

So let me—I have a couple things I want to ask. How do SAMs 

get created? And who initiates the engagements? If anybody can 

just respond to that, I have a little bit of time. 

Dr. ARTIS. I can’t speak to the 2013 agreement, but I can speak 

to 2019. We received communication from the field office in Columbia, South Carolina, asking us if we were amenable to renewing 

the agreement and reconsidering the depth of the engagement between the SBA and Benedict College, to which we readily agreed. 

Ms. ADAMS. Okay. 

Dr. DILLARD. Same with the district office in North Carolina, 

in Raleigh. We received a call, and we were certainly interested in 

continuing the relationship. 

Ms. ADAMS. Great. 

Dr. Harvey, you talked about some really interesting things. And 

so you have a good relationship with SBA as a lead small business—do you want to comment further on that? You have 35 seconds. 

Dr. HARVEY. Thank you very much. 

I believe very strongly that we benefit from being in the Nation’s 

capital. We benefit, also, being able to go down the street or have 

them come up the street to work with us. 

One of the things that I think is challenging, our relationship 

with other sub-centers, particularly other HBCUs, is the fact that 

there is a bit of economic discrimination in the policies that SBA 

has in the matching of funds. And that is something that SBA 

needs to consider, whether or not a school seeking to be a sub-center can apply for reduced or eliminated matching funds. I think 

that is extremely important. 

SBD026 with DISTILLER

31 

Ms. ADAMS. Thank you very much. And you will have the benefit of some of my dollars coming with my grandson to HU—thank 

you—next year. 

Dr. HARVEY. Thank you. 

Chairwoman CHU. Well, we want to thank all the witnesses for 

taking time out of your schedules to be with us today. Thank you 

for sharing your tremendous expertise. You have shown us that 

HBCUs offer tremendous opportunities to foster entrepreneurship 

and to be a catalyst for long-term economic growth. 

Now, SBA programs are designed to provide small-business owners with the resources and tools that they need to succeed. And 

while we have heard that SBA has taken steps to improve their 

level of engagement with HBCUs and share resources, clearly, 

more work still needs to be done. So the Subcommittee plans to 

continue with its oversight of SBA to ensure that the agency moves 

in the right direction in this regard. 

I would ask unanimous consent that members have 5 legislative 

days to submit statements and supporting materials for the record. 

Without objection, so ordered. 

And if there is no further business to come before the Subcommittee, we are adjourned. 

Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 11:43 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 

SBD026 with DISTILLER

32 

A P P E N D I X 

SBD026 with DISTILLER


Insert offset folio 32 here 36131.001

For Release on Delivery 

Expected at 10 a.m. ET 

Tuesday, April 30, 2019 

GA0·19·515T 

United States Government Accountability Office 

Testimony 

Before the Subcommittee on 

Investigations, Oversight, and 

Regulations, Committee on Small 

Business, House of Representatives 

SMALL BUSINESS 

ADMINISTRATION 

Preliminary Observations 

on SBA's Efforts to Foster 

Entrepreneurship with 

Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities 

Statement of Anna Maria Ortiz, Acting Director, 

Financial Markets and Community Investment 
33 

SBD026 with DISTILLER


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Foster 

Entrepreneurship with Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities 

What GAO Found 

Small Business Administration (SBA) programs and activities that foster 

entrepreneurship have included, but do not specifically target, Historically Black 

Colleges and Universities (HBCU), SBA funds 63 Small Business Development 

Centers (SBDC) that are generally hosted by colleges or universities. Two of the 63 

SBDCs are hosted by HBCUs-Howard University and the University of the Virgin 

Islands-and at least 16 of the more than 900 SBDC satellite locations have been at 

HBCUs. SBA's district offices also can initiate and oversee outreach activities to 

foster entrepreneurship. While these activities are not targeted to HBCUs, some 

district offices have worked with HBCUs. For example, district offices co-sponsored 

10 counseling and training activities in 2013-2018 with six HBCUs and signed 

memorandums with at least 27 HBCUs to strengthen local small business 

development in 2008-2018. 

Business Workshop at the Small Business Development Center at the University of the Virgin 

Islands 

GAO's preliminary observations indicate SBA has limited data on entrepreneurship~ 

related efforts at HBCUs. In 2018, SBA established two goals for working with 

HBCUs• (1) to raise awareness and provide information to help raise the capacity of 

HBCUs to participate in federally funded programs, and (2} to promote collaboration 

among HBCUs, SBA resource partners, and SBA district offices. For example, GAO's 

ongoing work identified that HBCU-specific data (such as the number of outreach 

events involving HBCUs or the numb<>r of HBCU students or alumni who participated) 

are incomplete at an agency~wide !eve!. Moreover, SBA does not systematically 

collect written feedback from event participants, including for events involving 

HBCUs. GAO's preliminary obse!Vations also indicate that SBA resource partners, 

such as SBDCs, have established relationships with some HBCUs, GAO will continue 

to examine the extent of SBA efforts to foster entrepreneurship with HBCUs. 

_____________ United States Government Accountability Office 
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Chairwoman Chu, Ranking Member Spano, and Members of the 

Subcommittee: 

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Small Business 

Administration's (SBA) efforts for fostering entrepreneurship with 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). HBCUs play an 

important and unique role in the higher education system as well as in 

their local and regional economies.' SBA is part of a long-standing White 

House Initiative to expand the capacity of HBCUs to provide quality 

education, including by increasing HBCU access to and participation in 

federal programs. SBA also works with many colleges and universities to 

provide entrepreneurial training and counseling on campuses. But little is 

known about the extent to which SBA has worked with HBCUs to help 

students and others start, build, and expand businesses. 

Today, I will discuss SBA's plans and programs for working with HBCUs 

and preliminary observations about our ongoing work on SBA's efforts to 

foster entrepreneurship with HBCUs. Specifically, I will discuss (1) SBA 

goals for working with HBCUs and the ex1ent to which its activities 

targeted HBCUs, and (2) our preliminary observations on what 

information SBA collects and reports specific to HBCUs and collaboration 

of selected HBCUs and SBA. My statement is based on findings from our 

March 2019 report and ongoing work examining SBA efforts related to the 

White House Initiative on HBCUs, including to what extent SBA met its 

goals for working with HBCUs to foster entrepreneurship.' 

For our March 2019 report, we reviewed executive orders relating to the 

White House Initiative and SBA's plan for addressing the initiative (a 

requirement of recent executive orders) for 2018 and identified SBA's 

goals for working with HBCUs. We reviewed SBA's congressional budget 

justifications (fiscal years 2008-2017), strategic plans, and standard 

operating procedures to identify key programs and counseling or training 

activities related to fostering entrepreneurship. We also reviewed statutes 

and regulations associated with the key programs and activities to 

1

Jeffrey M. Humphreys, HBCUs Make America Strong: The Positive Economic Impact of 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities, technical report (Washington, D.C.: 2017). 

Study commissioned by the United Negro College Fund, Frederick D. Patterson Research 

Institute. 

2

GAO, Small Business Administration: Key Entrepreneurship Programs and Activities Do 

Not Specmcally Target Historically Black Colleges and Universities, but Collaboration 

Exists with Some Schools, GA0-19-328R (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 7, 2019). 

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Background 

Executive Orders on White 

House Initiative 

determine the extent to which any target HBCUs. This report includes a 

detailed description of our scope and methodology. 

To develop our preliminary observations, we interviewed SBA officials in 

the Office of Entrepreneurial Development and in eight district offices to 

better understand the information SBA has collected and the extent of 

collaboration with HBCUs. We selected the district offices based on (1) a 

high number of HBCUs in the state, and (2) a mixture of types of 

agreements SBA signed with the HBCUs (cooperative agreement, 

strategic alliance memorandums, and co-sponsored agreements). We 

also interviewed six HBCUs about those efforts. We selected HBCUs that 

had formal agreements with SBA or proximity to any SBA district office. 

We also reviewed additional documents that SBA provided related to its 

plans and reports for the White House Initiative and that we identified 

related to strategic alliance memorandums and SBA resource partners. 

The work on which this statement is based was performed in accordance 

with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards 

require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate 

evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions 

based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained 

provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on 

our audit objectives 

Executive Order 12232 (1980) established the White House Initiative on 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities to expand the capacity of 

HBCUs to provide quality education. Subsequent administrations issued 

executive orders to continue the initiative.' Most recently, as expressed in 

Executive Order 13779 (2017), federal priorities for working with HBCUs 

encompass two missions: (1) increasing the role of private-sector entities 

in helping to improve capacity at HBCUs, and (2) enhancing HBCUs' 

'For example, see Exec. Order No. 12320 (Sept 15, 1981), Exec. Order No. 12766 (April 

28, 1989), Exec. Order No. 12876 (Nov. 1, 1993), Exec. Order No. 13256 (Feb. 12, 2002), 

Exec. Order No. 13532 (Mar. 3, 2010), and Exec. Order No. 13779 (Feb. 28, 2017). The 

current Executive Order (13779) supersedes the previous Executive Orders. 

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capabilities for helping young adults 4 The initiative used to be located in 

the Department of Education, and has been housed in the Executive 

Office of the President since 2017 (although maintaining operational 

presence within the Department of Education), according to 

representatives from the initiative. 

The more recent executive orders (from 2002, 2010, and 2017) require 

that each department and agency designated by the Secretary of 

Education prepare an annual plan on efforts to strengthen HBCU 

capacity.' SBA is among the agencies designated to prepare a plan. The 

plans are to describe how the department or agency intends to increase 

the capacity of HBCUs, including by identifying federal programs and 

initiatives in which HBCUs are underserved or that HBCUs may 

underutilize6 

The more recent executive orders also state that a Board of Advisors on 

HBCUs (in the Department of Education) shall report annually to the 

President on the Board's progress in carrying out its duties, which include 

advising the President on matters pertaining to strengthening the 

educational capacity of HBCUs.7 To prepare the report, the designated 

agencies were asked to provide data on funds awarded to HBCUs in the 

previous fiscal year. The annual reports generally were published on the 

4

Areas of focus noted for the second m1ssion of Executive Order 13779 include 

strengthening HBCU participation in federal programs, developing pub!io-private 

partnerships to promote research and programmatic excellence at HBCUs, and sharing 

administrative and programmatic best practices within the HBCU community 

5For our ongoing work, we focused on SBA's partnerships with HBCUs during the last 10 

years and therefore primarily reviewed Exec. Order No. 13256 (2002), Exec. Order No 

13532 (2010), and Exec. Order No. 13779 (2017) 

6Exec. Order No. 13779, § 2(c} (2017). Agency plans are to describe, where appropriate, 

(1) how the agency intends to increase the capacity of HBCUs to compete effectively for 

grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements; (2) identify federal programs and initiatives 

in which HBCUs are not well represented, and improve HBCUs' participation; and (3) 

encourage public-sector, private-sector, and community involvement in improving the 

overall capacity of HBCUs. See also, Exec. Order No. 13256, § 7 (2002); Exec. Order No 

13523, § 2(d) (2010). 

7

Exec. Order No. 13779, § 3 (2017). The President's Board of Advisors on HBCUs was 

established in the Department of Education. The Board consists of not more than 25 

members appointed by the President and includes the Secretary of Education, the 

Executive Director of the Initiative, representatives of multiple sectors (such as 

philanthropy, business, and finance), and sitting HBCU presidents. See also, Exec. Order 

No. 13256, § 1 (2002); Exec. Order No. 13523. § 3(a) (2010) 

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SBA Offices and Partners 

with Business 

Development and 

Counseling 

Responsibilities 

website of the White House Initiative on HBCUs.' We discuss the reports 

in more detail later in this statement 

SBA's Office of Entrepreneurial Development oversees several programs, 

primarily through a nationwide network of public and private resource 

partners that offer small business counseling and technical assistance. 

Key resource partners include Small Business Development Centers 

(SBDC), Women's Business Centers, and SCORE chapters. 

SBDCs provide technical assistance to small businesses and aspiring 

entrepreneurs. The SBDC network has 63 lead centers (which 

generally must be hosted by institutions of higher education) and 

more than 900 service centers (subcenters and satellite locations).' 

More than 100 private nonprofit Women's Business Centers provide 

counseling and training to assist women in starting and growing small 

businesses. 

SCORE is a nonprofit organization that fosters the development of 

small businesses through mentoring and education. SCORE mentors 

(volunteers with prior business or entrepreneurial experience) provide 

free or low-cost mentoring and training to entrepreneurs through more 

than 300 chapters in the United States and its territories. 

SBA also provides services through a network of 1 0 regional offices and 

68 district offices. SBA district offices serve as the point of delivery for 

most SBA programs and services. Some district office staff (including 

business opportunity, lender relations, and economic development 

specialists) work directly with SBA clients. 10 

8See ht1ps:/Jsites.ed.gov/whhbcu/po!icy/reports~studiesf. 

9More specifically, 63 organizations receive SBA funding to help operate SBDCs (in each 

state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American 

Samoa). The recipient is responsible for establishing a lead center and a network of 

service centers for a designated area. According to SBA officials, service centers do not 

have a relationship with SBA; rather, they have a contractual agreement with the SBDC 

lead center. The institution hosting a lead center is to promote an inclusive vision of 

entrepreneurship, expand the scope of activities, and coordinate with SBA district offices, 

federal and local agencies, and nongovernmental entities. 

10Business opportunity specialists recruit, train, educate, and develop small businesses 

interested in SBA's contracting programs. Economic development specialists market SBA 

programs and conduct outreach, training, and education. Lender relations specialists 

interact with lenders to deliver SBA loan programs and services in the district. 

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SBA's district offices can initiate and oversee outreach activities to foster 

entrepreneurship. For example, SBA district offices can plan and conduct 

events (including training and informational sessions), participate in thirdparty activities, or co-sponsor activities such as counseling and training.'' 

Moreover, district offices can enter into a 2-year strategic alliance 

memorandum with a nonprofit, institution of higher education, or 

government party to foster a working relationship designed to strengthen 

small business development in a local area. 

into co-sponsorship agreements with nonprofit and governmental entitles 

(federal, state, or local) to provide training, education, and information to small 

businesses 

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SBA's 2018 Plan 

Prioritizes 

Collaboration with 

HBCUs but Key 

Programs and 

Activities That Foster 

Entrepreneurship Do 

Not Specifically 

Target HBCUs 

SBA's Goals for Working 

with HBCUs Include 

Raising Awareness of Its 

Programs and Promoting 

Collaboration 

SBA's agency plan (2018) for the White House Initiative includes two 

goals. 12 The first goal is to raise awareness and provide information to 

help raise the capacity of HByUs to participate in federally funded 

programs. More specifically, the plan states that SBA will engage with 

HBCUs and provide them with information needed to access and 

compete for federal grants and contracts." The second goal is to promote 

collaboration among HBCUs, SBA resource partners, and SBA district 

offices. For instance, the plan states that SBA will encourage the 

formation of strategic alliance memorandums between SBA district offices 

and HBCUs to promote and support entrepreneurship in underserved 

markets. 

12https://wwvv.sba.gov/documentlreportwhite¥house-lnlt!ative-histonca!ly-black-colleges-universities 

13For instance, the plan identifies the Small Business Innovation Research and Small 

Business Technology Transfer programs, which SBA oversees, as available resources 

that are underutilized by HBCUs. The Small Business Innovation Research program 

began in 1982 and has four main purposes: (1) use small businesses to meet federal 

research and development needs, (2) stimulate technological innovation, (3) increase 

private-sector commercialization of innovations derived from federal research and 

development efforts, and (4) foster and encourage participation in technological innovation 

by small businesses owned by women and disadvantaged individuals, The Small 

Business Technology Transfer program began in 1992 and has three main purposes: (1) 

stimulate technological innovation, (2) foster technology transfer through cooperative 

research and development between small businesses and research institutions, and (3} 

increase private~sector commercialization of innovations derived from federal research 

and development 

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SBA's Key Programs and 

Activities for Fostering 

Entrepreneurship Are Not 

Targeted to HBCUs 

While the three most recent executive orders (which covered the period of 

our review, 2008-2018) require designated agencies, including SBA, to 

prepare annual plans, SBA was unable to provide us with agency plans 

for 7 of the 10 years we reviewed. We discuss SBA's limited information 

on activities at HBCUs that fostered entrepreneurship later in this 

statement. 

SBA's key programs and activities that foster entrepreneurship have 

included, but do not specifically target, HBCUs. 14 For instance, the SBDC 

program is a key program for fostering entrepreneurship but does not 

target HBCUs. 15 However, some HBCUs host SBDCs or have service 

centers. More specifically, 2 of the 63 lead SBDCs are hosted by 

HBCUs-Howard University in Washington, D.C. and the University of the 

Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands-and atleast16 HBCUs 

have hosted SBDC service centers." Since 1979, Howard University has 

hosted the lead SBDC for the District of Columbia, which offers 

workshops and counseling on marketing, business financing, social 

media, and other topics. The District of Columbia SBDC has two 

subcenters in its network-at the Anacostia Economic Development 

Center and the Greater Washington Urban League. The University of the 

Virgin Islands has been a host institution since 1985 and the Virgin 

Islands SBDC provides one-on-one counseling, training, and other 

14As of December 2018, there were 101 HBCUs recognized by the Department of 

Education as accredited institutions eligible for participation in federal student financial aid 

programs. Of these HBCUs, 50 are public and 51 are private nonprofit (private). 

151n fiscal year 2018, SBA allocated more than $131 million for the SBDC program. SBDC 

regulations permit SBA to conduct uspecial emphasis initiatives" to identify portions of the 

general population to target for assistance. 13 C.F.R § 130.340(c). SBA has identified 

certain populations of business owners as special emphasis groups (thus, they do not 

include HBCUs). According to SBA officials, SBDCs target underrepresented groups in 

the population of business owners near HBCUs. 

16As of September 2018, the 16 SBDC service centers that SBA identified were at 

Alabama State University, Bluefield State College, Delaware State University, Elizabeth 

City State University, Fayetteville State University, Florida A&M University, Jackson State 

University, Lincoln University of Missouri, North Caronna A& T State University, North 

Carolina Central University, Prairie View A&M University, South Carolina State University, 

Southern University and A&M College, Tennessee State University, Winston~Salem State 

University, and Xavier University of Louisiana. While SBA considers Hinds Community 

College-Utica as an HBCU with an SBDC subcenter, we did not count Hinds as an HBCU 

because the Department of Education had not defined it as such at the time of our review 

We did not independently verify whether all SBDC service centers at HBCUs were open 

as of September 2018. 

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resources at locations on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John-" 

According to the Virgin Island SBDC representatives, they have two 

physical offices-St. Croix and St. Thomas (which also serves St. John). 

Co-sponsored activities represent another key SBA effort to foster 

entrepreneurship. While co-sponsorship activities are not targeted to 

HBCUs, SBA has implemented them with HBCUs. SBA documented cosponsored activities with six HBCUs to foster entrepreneurship in 2013-

2018, mostly through collaborations with SBA district offices (see table 

1 ). 18 For instance, SBA's West Virginia district office and West Virginia 

State University in Institute, West Virginia coordinated workshops devised 

to help individuals over the age of 50 start and expand small businesses, 

while SBA's North Florida district office and Edward Waters College in 

Jacksonville, Florida designed a series of entrepreneurial training 

sessions for students and the community. 

SBDCs hosted by colleges or universities that are not HBCUs also can establish 

relationships with HBCUs. For example, the SBDC at the University of Maryland in 

College Park, Maryland has an agreement with Morgan State University in Baltimore, 

Maryland to assist businesses in the region. 

18SBA provided us with documentation for 14 co·sponsorship agreements with HBCUs 

made during 2013-2018. However, 4 of the 14 agreements did not cover counseling and 

training activities related to fostering entrepreneurship, which is the focus of our review. In 

the same period, SBA officials said they co-sponsored about 880 activities with other 

{non~HBCU) entities. It is possible that district offices co¥sponsored additional activities 

with HBCUs that were not reported to SBA headquarters. 

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Table 1: Documented Counseling and Training Activities to Foster Entrepreneurship That the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) Co-sponsored with Historically Black Colleges and UniversitieS1 2013-2018 

SBA office 

North Florida District Office 

Louisiana District Office 

Baltimore District Office 

Mississippi District Office 

West Virgima District Office 

Office of Entrepreneurship 

Education 

Historically Black College or University 

Edward Waters College 

Bethune Cookman University 

Southern University and A&M College 

Morgan State University 

Jackson State University 

West Virginia State University 

West Virginia State University 

West Virginia State University 

West Virginia State University 

West Virginia State University 

Activity 

SBA/Edward Waters College Entrepreneurial 

Workshop Series 

SBA/HBCU Entrepreneurial Workshop Series 

~connecting Businesses with Contracts" 

Procurement Conference 

Emerging Leaders 

Emerging Leaders 

Finding New International Customers Workshop 

Encore Entrepreneur (2014) 

Encore Entrepreneur (2015) 

How to Open a Rural Lodging Business 

{webinar series) 

Encore Entrepreneur 

Sot.~rce GAO analys•s of SBA documents l GA0·1S·5i5T 

SBA's strategic alliance memorandums are key for fostering 

entrepreneurship in local communities, including HBCU communities. 

Strategic alliance memorandums are 2-year agreements that state the 

parties involved will develop and foster working relationships with the 

intent of strengthening small business development in a local area. SBA 

identified 24 HBCUs with which it had signed strategic alliance 

memorandums during 2008-2018; we determined that at least another 

three HBCUs signed strategic alliance memorandums during this period 

(see table 2)19 As of April2019, SBA officials were able to provide us with 

documentation of nine memorandums signed during 2008-2018. Each of 

the nine memorandums said SBA district office staff were to invite 

participating HBCUs to attend SBA events, workshops, and training. SBA 

staff told us that because a strategic alliance memorandum does not 

sanction, authorize, or fund an event or activity, by design it is largely 

symbolic. Additionally, SBA officials from five of the eight district offices 

with which we met with told us that strategic alliance memorandums are 

19During the same time period, SBA officials said that they signed 206 strategic alliance 

memorandums with other (non~HBCU) entities. Nonprofit organizations and governmental 

agencies are eligible to enter into strategic amance memorandums. We will continue to 

review SBA's policies and procedures for retaining records related to the White House 

Initiative as a part of our ongoing work. 

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not necessary if the district office already has established a good working 

relationship with an HBCU. 

Table 2: Historically Black Colleges and Universities That Signed Strategic Alliance 

Memorandums with the Small Business Administration (SBA), by State, 2008-2018 

State 

Alabama 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

South Carolina 

Tennessee 

Historically Black College or Universitya 

Alabama A&M University 

J.F. Drake State Technical College 

Lawson State Community Coflege 

Miles College 

Stillman College 

Concordia College Alabamac 

Shelton Slate Community College 

Tuskegee University 

Delaware State University 

Edward Waters College 

Florida A & M University 

Bethune~Cookman University 

Florida Memorial University 

Morehouse College 

Savannah State University 

Di!tard University 

Rust College 

Alcorn State University 

Shaw University 

St Augustine University 

Benedict College 

LeMoyne-Owen College 

American Baptist College 

Source GAOanalySISOfSBAo;Jocuments iOA0-19"515T 

aSchools listed signed one or more strategic a !!lance memorandums with SBA between 2008 and 

2018. 

J>.y-hese schools were not previously identified in GA0-19-328R, which was based on information 

provided by SBA. We identified these schools through subsequent research on strategic amance 

memorandums with HBCUs. 

cconcordia College Alabama in Selma, Alabama closed at the end of spring semester 2018. 

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Preliminary 

Observations on 

SBA's Efforts Related 

to HBCUs 

Other SBA resource partners that foster entrepreneurship, including 

Women's Business Centers and SCORE chapters, do not specifically 

target HBCUs. As of February 2019, there was one Women's Business 

Center at an HBCU and no SCORE chapters at HBCUs, according to 

SBA officials. 20 But HBCUs can form relationships with these resource 

partners." For instance, representatives from Morgan State University in 

Baltimore, Maryland told us that a SCORE mentor from the area chapter 

has office hours on campus to provide mentoring. 

As part of our ongoing work, we have been reviewing SBA agency plans 

for the White House Initiative on HBCUs and assessing the extent to 

which SBA met the goals in its annual plans. Our preliminary 

observations indicate that information about the SBA office in charge of 

the agency's efforts related to HBCUs has been unclear; information 

about pre-2018 SBA plans, recent year efforts, and activities at HBCUs is 

limited; and relationships among SBA, its resource partners, and selected 

HBCUs varied. For example: 

Changing information about agency office responsible for 

Initiative on HBCUs. Until recently, SBA officials told us that no one 

office was responsible for the White House Initiative on HBCUs. In 

August 2018 officials told us that the agency's Office of 

Entrepreneurial Development and Office of Strategic Alliance, a 

suboffice within the Office of Communications and Public Liaison,· had 

responsibilities for programs or efforts that may involve HBCUs, but 

that neither office had primary responsibility for the initiative. SBA later 

determined that the SBA Administrator had designated the Office of 

Entrepreneurial Development as the program lead in 2018, and prior 

SBA leadership also designated this office as the lead in 2012. 

20According to SBA officials, the Maryland Women's Business Center has a service center 

at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland. 

21Statutory provisions for Women's Business Centers and SCORE, which are not 

generally affiliated with colleges and universities, do not mention HBCUs. However, when 

SBA evaluates applicants for Women's Business Centers, SBA must consider the ability 

of the applicant to "provide training and services to a representative number of women 

who are both socially and economically disadvantaged.~ 15 U.S.C. § 656(f)(3). Provisions 

for SCORE do not specify any socioeconomic, gender, or ethic/racial groups to be 

targeted. 15 U.S.C. § 637(b)(1)(B). According to SBA officials, Women's Business Centers 

and SCORE do not specifically target HBCUs as institutional organizations but each 

specifically targets under~represented groups in the population of business owners served 

by HBCUs 

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Limited information on agency plans. SBA appears to not have 

documentation of the agency plans it prepared for the White House 

Initiative for 7 of the 10 years in the period we reviewed (2008-2018). 

SBA prepared an annual plan in 2018 on its efforts to strengthen 

HBCUs capacity and according to SBA officials, has been finalizing its 

2019 agency plan. SBA also prepared plans for 2010 and 2011 which 

describe the total amount of funding the agency planned to provide to 

HBCUs for SBDCs and other activities. SBA is not aware of records 

for other plans developed in 2008-2018, according to Office of 

Entrepreneurial Development officials. 22 According to officials from the 

White House Initiative, they are unable to comment on SBA agency 

plans prior to 2018. 

White House Initiative annual reports not available after 2013. 

Annual reports on the results of agencies' efforts related to the White 

House Initiative, including data on SBA's funding for SBDCs hosted 

by HBCUs, are available for only 2008-2013. For example, the 2013 

annual report noted that about 2 percent of SBA funding for SBDCs at 

institutions of higher education was distributed to HBCUs.23 White 

House Initiative officials told us they are unable to explain why no 

reports were issued during 2014-2016. The officials also told us that 

the 2017 and 2018 reports had not yet been prepared because, as of 

Apri12019, the President's Board under Executive Order 13779 had 

not yet been chartered, and is therefore prohibited from convening 

under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.24 

Minimal HBCU-specific data on entrepreneurship-related efforts. 

HBCU-specific data-at an agency-wide level-on entrepreneurshiprelated efforts, such as the number of outreach events involving 

HBCUs or the number of attendees who are HBCU students or 

alumni, is incomplete. SBA officials told us that they track cosponsored activities, but do not track such information by specific 

institution or category of institution (such as an HBCU), and that their 

continue to follow up as part of our ongoing work. 

23The reports issued for 2008-2013 were entitled Annual Report to the President on the 

Results of the Participation of Historically Bfack Colleges and Universities in Federal 

Programs. 

24White House Initiative officials also told us that the Executive Director of the Initiative 

(established under Executive Order 13779) was appointed on or about October 2017, and 

that the Chairman of the President's Board of Advisors was appointed on or about 

February 2018. We will continue to examine the gaps in the annual report as part of our 

ongoing work. 

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systems are not set up to collect data on an event or activity in that 

manner. 25 

SBA officials told us that because district offices directly connect with 

HBCUs, district offices would have more information about efforts with 

HBCUs than offices at headquarters. As we previously reported, 

district offices are considered by officials as SBA's "boots on the 

ground," delivering most SBA programs and services. 26 While each of 

the eight district offices with which we spoke said that they conduct 

outreach activities, there is not a systematic approach for these 

offices to use to collect data on their outreach with HBCUs. 27 For 

example, Maryland district office officials told us they are required to 

report the total number of annual outreach events to SBA 

headquarters but have no reporting requirements specific to HBCUs. 

Similarly, West Virginia district office officials said that they do not 

report any information to SBA headquarters on specific entities, which 

would include HBCUs. However, the West Virginia district office tracks 

its activities with the two HBCUs in its region-West Virginia State 

University in Institute, West Virginia and Bluefield State College in 

Bluefield, West Virginia. Of the eight district offices, two also told us 

they had never heard of the White House Initiative on HBCUs and six 

told us they could not comment on whether they were familiar with the 

Initiative. 

Feedback from event participants not collected systematically. 

SBA does not systematically collect written feedback from event 

participants, including for events involving HBCUs. All eight districts 

offices with which we spoke said they have not collected feedback 

using a survey designed by SBA headquarters for co-sponsored 

events. 28 Some of the district offices with whom we met collect 

feedback using their own methods. For example, North Florida district 

office officials told us that they have their own satisfaction survey, 

continue to examine the information SBA collects as part of our ongoing work< 

26GAO, Small Business Administration: Leadership Attention Needed to Overcome 

Management Challenges. GA0-15-347 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 22, 2015) 

270ne district office added that it does not track participation by HBCU students or alumni 

28SBA's Outreach Event Survey (Form 20) includes questions on the quality of the 

presenter, usefulness of the event, and areas for improvement. According to SBA's 

standard operating procedures for outreach activities, Form 20 should be distributed to 

participants at the conclusion of co·sponsored activities, provided that there are staff 

available and it is not burdensome to distribute. The standard operating procedures also 

state that distribution of the form is optional for SBA-sponsored activities. 

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which is not reported to SBA headquarters. Officials from the West 

Virginia district office told us that they collect oral feedback. 

SBA resource partners have established relationships with some 

HBCUs. Three SBDCs with whom we spoke have relationships (some 

long-standing) with HBCUs and engaged in a variety of 

entrepreneurship-related activities, particularly in cases in which 

HBCUs are host institutions. More specifically, the Washington D.C. 

SBDC, Virgin Islands SBDC, and one of the Alabama SBDC 

subcenters work with the students, faculty, and alumni of Howard 

University, the University of the Virgin Islands, and Alabama State 

University in Montgomery, Alabama, respectively. For example, 

Washington D.C. SBDC representatives told us they currently work 

with 10-15 Howard University student clients and provide research 

support to Howard University." Similarly, Virgin Islands SBDC 

representatives told us they make presentations to upper-level 

business classes and freshmen development seminars at the 

University of the Virgin Islands. They also counsel students who 

participate in an annual entrepreneurial competition. The Alabama 

SBDC subcenter (housed in Alabama State University's College of 

Business Administration) works with several faculty members who 

have provided training at SBDC workshops, and assisted the 

subcenter on specialized topics, such as marketing, according to 

Alabama SBDC representatives. Through its relationship with faculty 

members, the Alabama SBDC subcenter also conducts outreach to 

students. 

Although Maryland's resource partners-the state's lead SBDC and a 

SCORE chapter-are not hosted by HBCUs, they have relationships 

with Morgan State University. For example, the Maryland SBDC has a 

formal partnership with Morgan State University's College of Business 

and Management. As a result of this partnership, the school has 

provided office space for SBDC staff in the School of Business in 

exchange for counseling and business development assistance for 

Morgan State students, at no cost. Additionally, a SCORE mentor 

from an area chapter keeps office hours at Morgan State University to 

provide mentoring, according to university representatives. 

Two HBCUs said they had little or no involvement with SBA or its 

resource partners. Two HBCUs with which we spoke had little or no 

29From time to time, the Washington D.C. SBDC provides research support to Howard 

University on national and districtwide small business trends. Recent research includes 

characteristics of minority-owned businesses and data on access to capital for minorityowned enterprises. 

Page 14 GA0-19-515T Small Business Administration 
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GAO Contacts and 

Staff 

Acknowledgements 

(103446) 

involvement with SBA or its resource partners. For example, a 

representative from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia told us the 

school had little involvement with the Georgia SBA district office since 

signing a strategic alliance memorandum in April 2013. Officials from 

the Georgia district office agreed that little collaboration existed with 

the school because Morehouse College had not asked them to 

participate in any events. 

Representatives from Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland 

(which is located near an SBA district office and a SCORE chapter) 

told us they have not interacted with any of SBA's offices or resource 

partners. The representatives said the school has an 

entrepreneurship program that began a few years ago, and would be 

interested in learning more about SBA, but were not aware of any 

outreach from SBA. Coppin State University representatives 

recognized that their School of Business is small and has not had the 

capacity to manage a formal relationship with SBA. SBA officials at 

the Maryland district office (which includes Coppin State University 

and Morgan State University in its network of HBCUs in its service 

area) said that their relationship with Coppin State University has not 

been as robust as their relationship with Morgan State University 

because the district office does not have a physical presence on 

Coppin State University campus. 

As part of our ongoing work, we will continue to examine the extent to 

which SBA has met its goals for fostering entrepreneurship with HBCUs 

and make recommendations, as appropriate. 

Chairwoman Chu, Ranking Member Spano, and Members of the 

Subcommittee, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be 

pleased to respond to any questions that you may have at this time. 

For further information on this testimony, please contact Anna Maria Ortiz 

at (202) 512-8678 or OrtizA@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of 

Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page 

of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to this report 

include Lisa Moore (Assistant Director), Chir-Jen Huang (Analyst in 

Charge), Rachel Beers, Benjamin Licht, Sulayman Njie, Maria Psara, 

Barbara Roesmann, Jessica Sandier, Jena Sinkfield, and Andrew 

Stavisky. 

Page 15 GA0·19·515T Small Business Administration 
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50 

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I I 

SBA 

I I 

Business 

Statement of Allen Gutierrez 

Associate Administrator 

Office of Entrepreneurial Development 

U.S. Small Business Administration 

before the 

House Committee on Small Business 

Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations 

Hearing on SBA's Engagement with Historically 

Black Colleges and Universities 

Apri130, 2019 
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Statement of Allen Gutierrez 

Associate Administrator 

U.S. Small Business Administration 

Thank you, Chairwoman Chu, Ranking Member Spano, and members of the 

subcommittee for inviting me to speak with you. In my testimony today, I would like to outline 

the role of the Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED). as well as that of other SBA 

program offices, in working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); share 

some history of how the agency has partnered with HBCUs over the years; comment on the 

GAO review; and identify how the agency can enhance our engagement in the future. 

I serve as Associate Administrator for OED. Our program office oversees a network of 

programs and services that support small businesses. This network includes what we commonly 

refer to as our resource partners, among them, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs). 

SBDCs are university based grantees that match federal funding from SBA with state and private 

funding to provide counseling and training to small business entrepreneurs. The SBDC system 

has 63 lead centers, and through them, 900 service centers. 

The agency's Office of Field Operations (OFO) has responsibility for SBA's 68 district 

offices. OFO and their close to 700 staff serve as the primary interface of the agency with small 

business entrepreneurs. The Associate Administrator for OFO works with our 68 district office 

directors to implement SBA 's programs and services. They also facilitate partnerships within 

their communities and work very closely with our SBDCs and other resource partners. It is at 

this local level and within this program office where the agency would intersect with HBCUs. 

Along those lines, SBA district offices have a long history of working with HBCUs. 

Various SBA District Offices have signed strategic alliance memorandums with HBCUs over the 

years, such as Alcorn State; Mississippi Valley State; Florida A&M; Bethune-Cookman; and 

Morehouse College, to name a few. In North Carolina, all five HBCUs are part of our resource 

network and host Small Business Technology Development Centers (SBTDCs). Fayetteville 

State has also been a host to a veteran business outreach center, and schools like Shaw and 

Johnson C. Smith have had strategic alliance memorandums with our North Carolina District 

Office. 

Other examples of collaboration include SBA' s Washington Metropolitan District Office 

and their close working relationship with Howard University, which also serves as an SBDC lead 

center. Our Arkansas District Office and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff have 

participated in a veteran's services expo. Our Richmond District Office and Virginia State 

University have coordinated on a Boots-to-Business workshop, and our Philadelphia District 

Office has conducted workshops with Cheyney University. Lastly, our Baltimore District Office 

has collaborated on small business training and counseling activities with Morgan State, who 

also hosted a congressional field hearing last fall in which SBA testified on access to capital for 

underServcd communities. 

With that as background, let me turn next to the GAO review ofSBA's activities in 

response to the President's Executive Order regarding federal agency collaboration with HBCUs. 

2 
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The GAO's findings point to the need for a more holistic approach to the agency's efforts, which 

the agency has undertaken in order to make our implementation more consistent and to create 

more clear ownership of the initiative within the agency by program office. 

Over the last two years, Administrator McMahon traveled to all 68 SBA district offices 

with the purpose of seeing firsthand how our programs and services are being delivered at the 

local level and to better align SBA headquarters with our district offices. The results ofthis effort 

will include more integrated customer service activities, including those involving engagement 

with HBCUs. For example, we plan to incorporate this in future Small Business Innovation 

Research program road tours, which is the federal government's research and development 

vehicle to support small businesses. 

In previous years and administrations, responsibility for the HBCU initiative has resided 

in various SBA program offices. In 2018, in order to better align our activities with HBCUs, 

A<;lministrator McMahon directed that my program office take a lead role in this effort. This 

includes participation by my office in interagency working groups, greater interaction with our 

field offices, preparation of annual agency plans, and the formation of an agency-wide intraagency working group focused on HBCUs. 

The GAO review has been instructive and has led to positive internal discussions on how 

we can strengthen the initiative going forward across program offices. Among our goals will be 

to break down any existing silos within our HBCU engagements, foster greater coordination with 

our Office of Field Operations, and ensure consistency and data collection. 

Thank you again, Chairwoman Chu, for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to 

continuing to work with you and committee members on this and other areas of mutual interest. 

3 
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Testimony Provided to the 

Committee on Small Business' Subcommittee on Investigations, 

Oversight, and Regulations 

United States House of Representatives 

Dr. Paulette Dillard 

President 

Shaw University 

April30, 2019 
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Biography 

Dr. Paulette Dillard, the 18th President of Shaw University, has a rich teaching history 

having taught biology for over 20 years at various institutions. Prior to her 

appointment as Shaw's interim President, she served as Vice President for Academic 

Affairs. 

During her tenure at Shaw University, Dr. Dillard served as the Dean of the College 

of Arts and Sciences, Department Chair for Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and as 

an Associate 

Professor of Biology. She also has served as Coordinator of undergraduate research 

infrastructure, and Co-Director of the academic enrichment programs for the 

National Institutes of Health funded National Institute on Minority Health and 

Health Disparities (NIMHD) Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI) 

project. 

Dr. Dillard also served as a research mentor for interns as part of the Shaw in 

Jamaica-Mon International Student Research Training Project, a collaborative 

partnership with The University of the West Indies. During the summer, Dr. Dillard 

and the student research interns spent six weeks in Kingston, Jamaica conducting 

research and examining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Jamaican men of 

African descent who were diagnosed with prostate cancer. This study was of interest 

to Dr. Dillard since it is well documented that Jamaica men have the highest mortality 

rate from prostate cancer when compared with other ethnic groups. 

Dr. Dillard serves on the boards for the Carolina Small Business Development Fund 

and the Dorothea Dix Conservancy. She has been involved with the Innovation and 

Entrepreneurship Center and the LaunchRALEIGH initiatives since inception. 

Throughout her career, Dr. Dillard has served on the boards of a number of 

professional and community organizations. 

Dr. Dillard grew up in Mount Airy, North Carolina. She earned a Bachelor of Science 

degree in biology at Barber Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina and received a 

Master of Science degree in biology from Tennessee State University. She went on to 

earn an MBA from the Jack Massey School of Business at Belmont University and a 

Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Clark Atlanta University (CAU), Atlanta, Georgia. 

Dr. Dillard completed postdoctoral training at the Center for Cancer Research and 

Therapeutic Development at CAU. 

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She was married to the late Reverend Moses C. Dillard, Jr. a renowned musician and 

social activist. She is a member of First Baptist Church, Wilmington Street in Raleigh, 

North Carolina. 

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Executive Summary 

Subcommittee Chairwoman Judy Chu, Ranking Member Ross Spano, and Members 

of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. 

My name is Dr. Paulette Dillard, and I serve as the 18'hPresident of Shaw University 

(Shaw). Shaw is a proud historically black college and university (HBCU) founded in 

1865 and is the first HBCU in the South located in Raleigh, North Carolina. With a 

mission to advance knowledge; facilitate student learning and achievement; to 

enhance the spititual and ethical values of its students; and to transform a diverse 

community oflearners into future global leaders, it is clear that Shaw is committed to 

student success. 

I was asked to testify before the subcommittee about Shaw's experiences and 

relationship with the Small Business 1\dministration (SBA). Shaw currently has a 

Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) with the SBA. The initial SAM was signed by 

Shaw and the SBA on January 13, 2013. This contractual agreement with the SBA 

through its North Carolina District Office has a purpose of developing and fostering 

a working relationship to strengthen small business development in the local area. 

As part of this partnership, Shaw opened its Small Business Resource Center (SBRC) 

in the fall of 2013. This SBRC, in partnership with the SBA, provides the following: 

• office space that includes a reception and resource materials area and a 

conference room for meetings and workshops; 

• an employee dedicated to manage and facilitate the activities; and 

• assistance to students and members of the Raleigh community with resources 

to start, finance, and operate a successful business. 

Not only does the SBA help to provide materials and services for the SBRC, but the 

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, also serves as a partner and Shaw is able to 

host seminars and workshops on a variety of small business topics, including business 

planning, credit building and marketing. The SBA provides expert presenters from the 

SBA office and the surrounding business community, and the SBA provides small 

business resource materials including pamphlets, brochures, website resource 

references, and contacts with key business community leaders. 

As a result of the relationship established between Shaw and the SBA, we have been 

able to offer workshops to our students, alumni, and community residents such as a 

small business start-up series: 

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• focusing on legal considerations and business plans; 

• focusing on marketing and how to find your niche with the proper usage of 

social media; 

• focusing on financing to learn more about investors and bank loans; and 

• focusing on the importance of credit as a consumer and also as a potential 

business owner. 

While Shaw has been able to benefit from the SAM with the SBA, there arc needs that 

still remain. The following are some areas that would be of benefit if available: 

• Access to online certifications for our students 

o Business related certifications do not only increase students 

understanding of the entrepreneurial environment but can also enhance 

their resumes and thus increase their chances of obtaining employment; 

• Access to an SBA database of available resources, workshops, seminars, etc. 

o \Vhen current or aspiring entrepreneurs seek assistance, it would be 

helpful to be able to identify specific resources/ upcoming workshops 

based on their areas of inquiry such as startups., marketing, financing 

(qualifying for SBA loans, grants), business structure/legal 

considerations, employment rules, health insurance, taxes (employment, 

sales), licenses, accounting, and franchising; 

• Assistance in setting up an SBRC website/Social Media Links; and 

• Assistance in developing an SBRC brochure. 

I would like to thank Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez, Representative Alma Adams, 

and the remaining Members of Congress for requesting that the Government 

Accountability Office (GAO) look into SBA's entrepreneurship efforts with HBCUs. 

We learned that SBA's goals, as identified in their 2018 strategic plan submitted to the 

Secretary of Education and the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on 

HBCUs, were to "(1) [raise] awareness and [provide] information that would help 

raise the capacity of HBCU s to participate in federally funded programs, and (2) 

promote collaboration among HBCUs and SBA resource partners and district 

offices." 

5 
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In an effort to accomplish goal number one, both the Small Business Innovation 

Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs were mentioned. SBA 

indicates that these programs are underutilized by HBCUs, but what the report fails to 

disclose is that funding requested for these very same programs in the FY 2020 

budget request was significantly lower at $3 million compared to the $5.99 million that 

was enacted in FY 2019, a l2.99million dollar decrease. 

SBA's stated goals are a direct response to Executive Order (EO) 13779, and the 116'h 

Congress has taken measures to codify this EO. While the United States Senate has 

already passed S. 461, the HBCU Propelling Agency Relationships Towards a New 

Era of Results for Students (PARTNERS) Act, there remains concerns in the HBCU 

community regarding this legislation and whether or not it goes far enough to truly 

increase transparency within the Federal government. H.R. 1054, the HBCU 

PARTNERS Act is similar to the Senate bill, but includes stronger provisions that 

would be supported by the HBCU community. 

In conclusion, HBCUs are valuable institutions that not only contribute to society, but 

provide an invaluable experience for our students, especially our students who are 

low-income and first generation. I hope to see greater collaboration between SB1\ and 

HBCUs, and I also hope to see meaningful legislation passed in the 116'h Congress to 

truly strengthen EO 13779. 

For more information and details regarding my remarks, I ask that you read my 

written testimony submitted for your review. 

Thank you. 

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Full Testimony1 

Introduction 

Subcommittee Chairwoman Judy Chu, Ranking Member Ross Spano, and Members 

of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. 

My name is Dr. Paulette Dillard, and I serve as the 18'hPresident of Shaw University 

(Shaw). Shaw is a proud historically black college and university (HBCU) founded in 

1865 by Henry Martin Tupper who served as a soldier in the Union Army during the 

Civil War. Not only is Shaw a proud HBCU, but Shaw is the first HBCU in the South 

and is located in Raleigh, North Carolina. In addition, Shaw is the first institution in 

the nation to offer a four-year medical program, the first HBCU in the nation to open 

its doors to women, and the first HBCU in North Carolina to be granted an "A" 

rating by the State Department of Public Instruction. With a mission to advance 

knowledge; facilitate student learning and achievement; to enhance the spiritual and 

ethical values of its students; and to transform a diverse community of learners into 

future global leaders, it is clear that Shaw is committed to student success. 

HBCU History and Statistics 

I would like to thank Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez and the remaining Members 

of Congress for requesting that the Government Accountability Offlce (GAO) look 

into SBA's entrepreneurship efforts with HBCUs. I would be remiss if I did not make 

a special acknowledgement to Representative Alma Adams, co-Chair of the Bipartisan 

HBCU Caucus, for leading the request to the GAO regarding this study. 

While shocking to some, this report did not reveal any new news that those of us in 

the HBCU community did not already know. But, before we dive into the findings in 

the report, I think that it is imperative that we all understand the history of HBCU s. 

HBCUs were created as early as 1837 to provide African Americans access to higher 

education. Noted for their contributions in educating "black, low-income and 

educationally disadvantaged Americans," the 101 accredited HBCUs today constitute 

the class of institutions that satisfy the statutory definition of the term "HBCU" as 

defined in the H~gher Education Act of 1965. 

1 This testimony largely mirrors the testimony given by Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis in that (1) both testimonies are from 

private HBCUs that are impacted in the same manner by the Federal government and (2) both HBCUs have SAMs '-vith 

the SB~\. You will find the main differences in testimony to he the details regarding the Stratet,ric Alliance Memorandums 

with the Small Business Administration. 

7 
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HBCUs disproportionately enroll low-income, first-generation and academically 

underprepared college students-precisely the students that the country most needs 

to obtain college degrees. In 2017: 

• Nearly 300,000 students attended HBCUs2

; 

• More than 75 percent of HBCU students were African Americans; and 

• 70 percent of all students at HBCUs received federal Pell Grants, and 78 

percent of these students received federal loans. 3 

HBCUs comprised 3 percent of all two- and four-year non-profit colleges and 

universities, yet they: 

• Enroll 10 percent of African American undergraduates; 

• Produce 17 percent of all African American college graduates with bachelor's 

degrees; and 

• Graduate 24 percent of African Americans with bachelor's degrees in STEM 

fields. 4 

A 2015 Gallup survey confirms that HBCUs are providing African American students 

with a better college experience than African American students at other colleges and 

universities. 

• 55 percent of African American HBCU graduates say their college prepared 

them well for post-college life versus 29 percent for African American 

graduates of other institutions.5 

HBCUs attained these results at an affordable price for students-that is, the cost of 

attendance at HBCUs is about 30 percent lower, on average, than other collegesdespite limited operating budgets and endowments that are roughly half the typical 

size of other four-year public and private non-profit colleges and universities. 

Since our founding, HBCUs have been, and continue to be, under-resourced 

institutions. An issue brief produced by ACE (American Council on Education) and 

U~CF (United ~egro College Fund, Inc.) revealed the following: 

2 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Digest of edl!cation statistics 2018 [Table 

313.20]. Retrieved from https:/ I nces.ed.gov /programs/ digest/ dlS/ tables/ dt18_313.20.asp 3 UNCF Patterson calculations using U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated 

Postsecondary Education Data System. 

'Ibid. 

5 Gallup, Inc. (2015). Gallup-USAjimdr minority follege grarbtates report. Retrieved from UNCF Website: 

https://'W-ww.uncf.org/,vp-content/uploads/PDFs/USA_Funds_Minority_Report_GAIJJ.JP-2.pdf 

8 
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• Public HBCUs rely more heavily on federal, state, and local funding in 

comparison with their non-HBCU counterparts (54 percent of overall revenue 

vs 38 percent); 

• Private HBCUs depend a little bit more on tuition dollars than their nonHBCUs counterparts (45 percent compared with 37 percent); 

• Private gifts, grants, and contracts constitute a smaller portion of overall 

revenue at private HBCUs compared to their non-HBCU counterparts (17 

percent vs 25 percent); 

• Public and Private HBCUs experienced the largest declines in federal funding 

per full-time equivalent student between 2003-2015; and 

• In both the public and private sectors, HBCU endowments lag behind those of 

non-HBCUs by at least 70 percent.6 

Despite being under-resourced institutions, HBCUs have a large economic impact 

that often goes unnoticed by most. In 2017, UNCF released a report detailing the 

economic impact of HBCUs. The report revealed that in 2014, the impact of HBCUs 

on their regional economies included: 

• $10.3 billion in initial spending, which includes spending by the institution for 

personnel services, spending by the institution for operating expenses, and 

spending by students; 

• An employment impact of 134,090 jobs, which approximately 43 percent were 

on-campus jobs and 57 percent were off-campus jobs; 

• $10.1 billion in terms of gross regional product, which is a measure of the value 

of production of all industries; 

• A work-life earnings of $130 billion for the Class of 2014, which is 56 percent 

more than they could expect to earn without their 2014 certificates or degrees; 

and 

• A total economic impact of $14.8 billion. 7 

In addition to the positjve impact HBCUs make on the overall economy, HBCUs also 

have a strong impact academically when observed at the state and local level. An 

upcoming report to be released by UNCF shows that: 

Private-Investments-and-Divestments-in-I1BCUs.aspx 

black colleges and universities. 

https:/ /\vww.acenct.edu/news-room/Pagcs/Public-and7 Humphreys,J.M. (2017). HBCUr make America strong: The positive economic impact qf historicai!J black colleges and universities. 

Retrieved from UNCF \Xlebsite: https:/ hv'"WW.uncf.org/programs/hbcu-lmpact 

9 
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• HBCUs comprised 8.5 percent of the four-year institutions across the 21 states 

and territories in the analysis; 

• Across the 21 states and territories in the analysis, HBCUs enrolled, on average, 

24 percent of all black undergraduates pursuing a bachelor's degree in a college 

or university in 2016; 

• Across the 21 states and territories in the analysis, on average, 26 percent of all 

black bachelor's degree recipients graduated from an HBCU in 2016; and 

• In my home state of North Carolina, HBCUs are 16 percent of the four-year 

institutions, but enroll45 percent of all black undergraduates and award 43 

percent of all black bachelor's degrees in the state. 8 

GAO Report Findings 

While the GAO report does not address the resources directly at HBCUs, this report 

does examine "(1) federal priorities and SBA goals related to working with HBCUs, 

and (2) SBA's key programs and outreach activities for fostering entrepreneurship, 

particularly with HBCUs, and what is known about HBCU participation in these 

programs and activities."9 We learned that SBA's goals, as identified in their 2018 

strategic plan submitted to the Secretary of Education and the Executive Director of 

the White House Initiative on HBCUs, were to "(1) [raise] awareness and [provide] 

information that would help raise the capacity of HBCUs to participate in federally 

funded programs, and (2) promote collaboration among HBCUs and SBA resource 

partners and district officcs."10The report goes on to describe ways that HBCUs 

could collaborate with SBA by identifying Small Business Development Centers 

(SBDC), Women's Business Centers, Strategic Alliance Memorandums, and SCORE 

chapters as ways for HBCUs to engage. From this, we learned that: 

• out of 63 total organizations that receive funding for SBDCs, HBCUs only 

account for 2 of those organizations; 

• out of more than 900 service centers in the SBDC network, HBCUs onlv 

account for 16 of those centers; and · 

• out of 206 strategic alliance memorandums, HBCUs only account for 24 of 

those memorandums. 

Office. 

10 Ibid. 

B.T. (2018). HBCUs punching above their weight: A ''"''-'""·' "'"''"''' 

\Xlashington, DC: l.JNCF Frederick D. Patterson Institute 

college and 

Small busimss administration: 

but m!laboratiott 

not .rpecijimlfy target historically 

Wa,<hin,gton, DC: U.S. Government Accountability 

10 
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It is not surprising that there is not more HBCU representation in the aforementioned 

ways HBCUs could collaborate with SBA, but what is surprising is what I have to say 

next. The report goes on to explain SBA's first goal to provide HBCUs with 

information on accessing and competing for federal grants and contracts in a bit more 

detail. Both the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology 

Transfer programs are mentioned. SBA indicates that these programs are 

underutilized by HBCUs, but what the report fails to disclose is that funding 

requested for these very same programs in the FY 2020 budget request was 

significantly lower at $3 million compared to the $5.99 million that was enacted in FY 

2019, a $299 million dollar decrease. There are a total of 11 agencies that 

participate with the SBA regarding these two programs and only agencies with 

extramural budgets for research and development in excess of $1 billion are required 

to set aside certain targeted amounts for small business innovation. 

Strategic Alliance Memorandum 

Overview 

I was asked to testify before the subcommittee about Shaw's experiences and 

relationship with the Small Business Administration (SBA). Earlier, I mentioned a 

Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) as one of the ways an HBCU can engage with 

the SBA, and I am happy to share that Shaw currently has one of these agreements. 

The initial SAM was signed by Shaw and the SBA on January 13, 2013. 11 This 

contractual agreement with the SBA through its North Carolina District Office has a 

purpose of developing and fostering a working relationship to strengthen small 

business development in the local area. 

As part of this partnership, Shaw opened its Small Business Resource Center (SBRC) 

in the fall of 2013. This SBRC, in partnership with the SBA, provides the following: 

• office space that includes a reception and resource materials area and a 

conference room for meetings and workshops; 

• an employee dedicated to manage and facilitate the activities; and 

• assistance to students and members of the Raleigh community with resources 

to start, finance, and operate a successful business. 

Not only does the SBA help to provide materials and services for the SBRC, but the 

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, also serves as a partner and Shaw is able to 

host seminars and workshops on a variety of small business topics, including business 

planning, credit building and marketing. The SBA provides expert presenters from the 

t 1 Please see enclosure 1 

11 
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SBA office and the surrounding business community, and the SBA provides small 

business resource materials including pamphlets, brochures, website resource 

references, and contacts with key business community leaders. 

As a result of the relationship established between Shaw and the SBA, we have been 

able to offer workshops to our students, alumni, and community residents such as a 

small business start-up series: 

• focusing on legal considerations and business plans; 

• focusing on marketing and how to find your niche with the proper usage of 

social media; 

• focusing on financing to learn more about investors and bank loans; and 

• focusing on the importance of credit as a consumer and also as a potential 

business owner. 

Further Needs 

While Shaw has been able to benefit from the SAM with the SBA, there arc needs that 

still remain. The following are some areas that would be of benefit if available: 

• Access to online certifications for our students 

o Business related certifications do not only increase students 

understanding of the entrepreneurial environment but can also enhance 

their resumes and thus increase their chances of obtaining employment; 

• Access to an SBA database of available resources, workshops, seminars, etc. 

o When current or aspiring entrepreneurs seek assistance, it would be 

helpful to be able to identify specific resources/upcoming workshops 

based on their areas of inquiry such as startups, marketing, financing 

(qualifying for SBA loans, grants), business structure/legal 

considerations, employment rules, health insurance, taxes (employment, 

sales), licenses, accounting, and franchising; 

• Assistance in setting up an SBRC website/Social Media Links; and 

• Assistance in developing an SBRC brochure. 

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Policy Recommendation 

The SBA submitted an agency plan to the Secretary of Education and the Executive 

Director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs due to Executive Order (EO) 

13779 released on February 28, 2017 by President Donald J. Trump. In this EO, the 

Secretary of Education and the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on 

HBCUs are mandated to identify agencies that regularly interact with HBCUs and 

have them prepare an annual plan describing efforts to strengthen the capacity of 

HBCUs to participate in applicable Federal programs and initiatives. 12As described in 

the GA 0 report, this type of EO was ftrst written in 1980, under EO 12232, in the 

Administration of President Jimmy Carter and established the White House Initiative 

on HHCUs. 

Although the Trump Administration followed suit and introduced an EO regarding 

the White House Initiative on HHCUs, this Administration also wanted to inquire 

about ways to further enhance the EO as well. Birthed from this were conversations 

with select representatives of the HBCU community and an introduction of S. 461, 

the HBCU Propelling Agency Relationships Towards a New Era of Results for 

Students (PARTNERS) Act. This bill, led by Senator Tim Scott and Senator Chris 

Coons, gained 15 bipartisan cosponsors and passed the United States Senate on 

February 12, 2019 by unanimous consent. In the United States House of 

Representatives, a similar bill was also introduced, H.R. 1054, the HBCU PARTNERS 

Act, led by Representative Alma Adams and Representative Mark Walker, with 8 

bipartisan cosponsors. 

While I am thankful that Congress is in the process of codifying EO 13779, I would 

be remiss if I did not express some concern from those of the HBCU community 

regarding the version that passed the Senate. The law is binding, but EO's have a 

greater degree of flexibility. I am happy that EO 13532 further enhanced the White 

House Initiative on HBCUs to express the importance of working with our 

institutions, and I am happy that an EO 13779 continued this effort. 

S. 461 was intended to codify EO 13779 but made some changes to both strengthen 

and weaken the EO. For instance, the legislation strengthened the EO by adding 

additional language to: 

• mandate that agencies who submit a plan describe any progress made towards 

advancing or achieving goals and efforts from previous agency plans; 

"Exec. Order No. 13779,82 FR 12499 (2017). 

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• require the head of each applicable agency to submit their agency plans to the 

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House 

Committee on Education and Labor; and 

• mandate that the President's Board of Advisors advise the President in 

improving government-wide strategic planning related 

to HBCU competitiveness to align Federal resources and provide the context 

for decisions about HBCU partnerships, investments, performance goals, 

priorities, human capital development and budget planning. 

The legislation weakened the EO by not including the requirement that the 

President's Board of Advisors "shall include representatives of a variety of sectors, 

including philanthropy, education, business, finance, entrepreneurship, innovation, 

and private foundations, as well as sitting HBCU presidents." S. 461 simply remains 

silent regarding who would serve on this important Board, and I believe that clarity 

should be provided especially since this is something that would be codified. 

The legislation also allows the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the 

Executive Director of the \'\Yhite House Initiative on HBCUs, to determine which 

Federal agencies "regularly interact" with HBCUs in order to mandate those agencies 

to submit agency plans. While previous EOs have included language allowing the 

Secretary of Education to determine which agencies would need to submit agency 

plans, a looming question remains as to the consistency of the agencies that would be 

considered to "regularly interact" with HBCUs from Administration to 

Administration. 

I strongly believe that our Federal government should be more transparent with their 

efforts to work with institutions like mine, and I believe that Congress could do a 

better job at oversight of the Federal government regarding their interactions with 

HBCUs if all agencies were required to submit an agency plan. I completely 

understand that not all agencies would have a relationship with HBCUs and in this 

case, it would be beneficial that these agencies simply state in their plan any efforts 

they could potentially take to identify specific HBCU initiatives and resources that 

could benefit the HBCU community. This proposal docs not mandate that any 

resources be spent on HBCUs, but simply requests that all Federal agencies be 

transparent and tell Congress, the Secretary of Education, and the Executive Director 

on the White House Initiative on HBCUs what is happening within the agency as it 

pertains to HBCUs. 

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H.R. 1054 seeks to also codify EO 13779 and not only does it include the 

aforementioned language that strengthens the EO, it also mandates that all Federal 

agencies submit an agency plan. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, HBCUs are invaluable institutions that not only contribute to society, 

but provide an invaluable experience for our students, especially our students who are 

low-income and first generation. I hope to see greater collaboration between SBA and 

HBCUs, and I also hope to see meaningful legislation passed in the 116'h Congress to 

truly strengthen EO 13779. 

It is an honor to be asked to present this testimony, and I commend you for your 

service and for addressing these important issues. 

Thank you. 

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US. Smal! Business 

Administration 

Strategic Alliance 

Memorandum 

between the 

United States Small Business Administration 

and the 

Shaw University 

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Shaw University (each 

a "Party" or, collectively the "Parties") are joined by a common mission; helping start, 

maintain, and expand small businesses: The Parties will work together in the spirit 

of cooperation and open communications, consistent with law, with the primary goal 

of meeting the needs of the small business community. 

Shaw University is a private, historically black university (HBCU) in Raleigh, NC. 

The mission of the SBA is to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small 

business by providing financial, contractual and business development assistance and 

advocating on their behalf within the government SBA district offices deliver SBA 

programs and services to the public, Each Party has separate services and resources 

which, when delivered in coordination with each other, wit! provide maximum 

benefits to the small business communities served, 

The purpose of this Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) is to develop and foster 

mutual understanding and a working relationship between the SBA and Shaw 

University in order to strengthen and expand small business development in the local 

area. 

The Parties acknowledge that beyond the information sharing contemplated under 

this SAM, any specific joint training and outreach activities will require a separate 

signed agreement developed pursuant to SBA's Cosponsorship Authority. 

In order to further their common goals, the Parties agree to the following: 
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SBA Undertakings: 

Within the limits of its available and/or appropriated resources, the SBA through its 

North Carolina District Office will: 

• Provide Shaw University with up-to-date information about SBA's 

programs and services. 

• Make available, upon request, information regarding SBA's resource 

partners, including but not limited to, the Small Business Development 

Centers (SBDCs), SCORE, and the Women's Business Centers (WBCs) 

(collectively, "SBA's Resource Partners"). 

• Make available, upon request and subject to their availability, SBA 

pamphlets, brochures, and other publications. 

• Advise Shaw University of events that may impact its mission. 

• Provide speakers, consistent with SBA rules and policy, to participate in 

Shaw University workshops, conferences, seminars and other activities to 

discuss SBA financing, government contracting and other business topics. 

• Invite Shaw University's clients/members to attend local SBA-sponsored 

events and offer SBA-sponsored training at Shaw University's location 

when appropriate. 

• Provide a text-only hyper! ink from SBA's website to Shaw University's 

website pursuant to SBA's linking policies. 

• Provide information to Shaw University's staff on SBA programs and 

services available to local small businesses. 

• Assign a local point of contact to serve as liaison between SBA and Shaw 

University. 

Shaw University Undertakings: 

Within the limits of its available resources, the Shaw University will: 

• Cooperate with SBA's Resource Partners to provide information to its 

clients/members about business development services to small businesses 

when appropriate. 

• Keep abreast of and disseminate up-to-date information provided by SBA 

when appropriate. 

• Make available to its clients/members SBA pamphlets, brochures, and 

other publications. 

• Inform Shaw University's small business clients/members of SBA's 

programs and services including referrals to SBA's Resource Partners when 

appropriate. 

• Upon request, provide speakers for SBA-sponsored events when 

appropriate. 
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• Provide a text-only hyperlink from Shaw University's website to SBA's 

website. 

• Assign a local point of contact to serve as liaison between Shaw University 

and SBA. 

All materials bearing the SBA name or logo must be approved in advance by SBA's 

Responsible Program Official. Use of SBA's logo must be accompanied by the 

following statement: "Use of the SBA logo is authorized by a Strategic Alliance 

Memorandum. Reference to SBA is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, 

products or services of any person or entity." The SBA logo may only be used to 

promote SBA and/or its programs, activities, and services. SBA's logo cannot be used 

in a way that suggests the Agency is endorsing any individual, organization, product, 

or service or in a way which implies that an improper relationship exists between SBA 

and an outside party. SBA's logo also must not be used in any manner that is liable to 

bring the Agency into a negative light, such as in connection with any products or 

services related to alcohol, gambling or adult entertainment industries. Further, SBA's 

logo must not be used in connection with any political activities, lobbying efforts, or in 

conjunction with any religious activity. 

The "U.S. Small Business Administration" name shall be used only in a factual manner, 

consistent with applicable law, and shall not promote or endorse any products or 

services of any entity including but not limited to Shaw University. Nothing in this 

SAM permits Shaw University to use the SBA official seaL 

IV. I!:J~.M 

Cooperation under this SAM wilt commence upon signing by both Parties and will 

continue for a period of two years from date of signature unless otherwise terminated 

by one or both Parties as per paragraph VI below. 

The Parties agree to consult each other on any amendment, modification or 

clarification to the provisions of this SAM. This SAM may only be amended or modified 

in writing and shaH be consistent with applicable laws, regulations and SBA policy. 

Either Party may discontinue its participation under this SAM at any time, with or 

without cause, upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other Party. 
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VII. RELATIONSHII' 

This SAM does not authorize the expenditure of any funds. Accordingly, this SAM shall 

not be interpreted as creating any binding legal obligations between the Parties nor 

shatl it limit either Party from participating in similar activities or arrangements with 

other entities. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to create any association, 

partnership, joint venture or relation Qf principal or agent or employer and employee 

with respect to Shaw University and SBA. 

The SBA Responsible Program Official for this Strategic Alliance Memorandum is 

Michael Arriola. 

The points of contact for administrative matters pertaining to this SAM are: 

Shaw University: 

Name: Dr. Mma Kalu 

Title: Department Chair 

Address: 118 E. South Street, Raleigh NC 27601 

Email: mkalu@shawu.edu 

U.S. Small Business Administration: 

Name: Patrick Rodriguez 

Title: Senior Area Manager 

Address: 6600 Louisburg Road, Bldg D Room 351, Raleigh NC 27616 

Email: Ea!rlc~JQ.qrjgyg~@sl1.3,g<:>v 
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The signatories below represent that they have the authority to make such 

commitments on behalf of their respective organization. This SAM may be executed in 

counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which, taken 

together, shall constitute one and the same agreement. ' 

u.s. Small Business Administration: 

---~V/J~-- ------------------ Stephen Morris, Director of Strategic Alliances 

~)-1-J q --~-------}_ __ _ Date 

Date 

Shaw University: 

·----1--::.._._ '-1-1 t .... ___ _ 

Date 
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Strategic Alliance Memorandum 

with the 

United States Small Business Administration 

and 

Shaw University 

I. PURPOSE 

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Shaw University (each a 

"Party" or, collectively the "Parties") are joined by a common mission; helping start, maintain, 

and expand small businesses. The Parties will work together in the spirit of cooperation and 

open C('J11munications, consistent with law. with the primary goal of meeting the needs of the small 

business community. 

Shaw University exists to advance knowledge, tl1cilitate student learning and achievement, to 

enhance the spiritual and ethical values of its students, and to transfonn a diverse community of 

learners into future global leaders. 

The mission of the SBA is to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business 

by providing financial, contractual and business development assistance and advocating on their 

behalf within the government. SB A district offices deliver SBA programs and services to the public. 

Each Party has separate services and resources which, when delivered in coordination with each 

other, will provide maxi til U In benefits to Lhc stnall busi I less conummities se I ved. 

The purpose of this Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) is to develop and foster mutual 

understanding and a working relationship between the SBA and Shaw University in order to 

strengthen and expand small business development in the local area. The Parties acknowledge that 

specilic joint training and outreach activities contemplated under this SAM require further 

negotiations and a separate signed agreement developed pursuant to SBA's cosponsorship authority. 

Nothing in this SAM permits Shaw University to use the SBA logo or seal. The "U.S. Small 

Business Administration" name shall be used only in a factual manner, consistent with applicable 

lcm, and shall not promote or endorse any products or services of any entity intluding but not 

limited to Shaw Vnive1·sity. 

In order to further their common goals. the Parties agree to the following: 

II. SCOPE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

SBA Undertakings: 

Within the limits of its available and/or appropriated resources, the SBA through its North 

Carolina District On1cc will: 

Provide Shaw Vniversity with up-to-date information about SBA's programs and 

services. 

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Make available, upon request, information regarding Sl3A's resource partners. including 

but not limited to, the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs). SCORE, and the 

Women's Business Centers (WBCs) (collectively. "SBA's Resource Partners"). 

Make available, upon rcqu<:st and subject to their availability, SBA pamphlets. brochures, 

and other publications. 

Advise Shaw University of events that may impact its mission. 

Pmvide speakers. consistent with SBA rules and policy, to participate in Shaw 

University workshops. conferences. seminars and other activities to discuss SBA 

financing. government contracting and other business topics. 

Invite Shaw University clients/members tl) attend local SUA-sponsored events and 

offer SBA-sponsorcd training at Shaw University location when appropriate. 

Provide a text-only hyperlink from SI:3A's website to Shaw University website pursuant 

to SBA's linking policies. 

Provide information to Shaw University staff on SBA programs and services available 

to local small businesses. 

Assign a local point of contact to serve as liaison between SBA and Shaw University. 

Shaw University Undertakings: 

Within the limits of its available resources, the Shaw University will: 

Cooperate with SBA's Resource Partners to provide information to its clients/members 

about business development services to small businesses when appropriate. 

Keep abreast of and disseminate up-to-date information provided by SBA when 

appropriate. 

Make available to its clients/members SBA pamphlets, brochures, and other 

publications. 

Inform Shaw lJniversity small business clients/members of SBA's programs and 

services including referrals to SBA's Resource Partners when appropriate. 

Upon request. provide speakers for SBA-sponsorcd events when appropriate. 

Provide a text-only hyper! ink from Slunv University website to SBA's website. 

Assign a local point of contact to serve as liaison between Shaw University and SBA. 

IJl. TERM 

Cooperation under this SAM will commence upon signing by both Parties and will continue 

!(}r a period of two years from date of signature unless otherwise terminated by one or both 

Parties as rer paragraph V below. 

IV. AMENDMENT 

The Parties agree to consult each other on any amendment. modification or clarification to 

the provisions of this SAM. This SAM may only be amended or modified in writing and 

shall be consistent with applicable laws. regulations and SBA policy. 

V. TERMINATION 

Either Party may discontinue its participation under this SAM at any time. with or without 

cause. upon thirty (30) clays written notice to the other Party. 

VI. RELATIONSHIP 

This SAM does not authorize the expenditure of any funds. Accordingly. this SAM shall not 

be interpreted us creating any binding legal obligations between the Parties nor shall it limit 

either Party from participating in similar activities or arrangements with other entities. 

2/3 
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Nothing contained herein shall be construed to create any association. partnership. joint 

venture or relation of principal or agent or employer and employee with respect to Shaw 

University and SBA. 

VII. RESPONSIBLE OFFICIALS 

The responsible otllcials and points of contact for administrative matters pertaining to this 

SAM are: 

Shaw lJ niversity: 

Name: 

Title: 

Address: 

Tel: 

e-mail: 

Dr. MmaKalu 

Department Chair 

I 1 8 E South Street 

Raleigh NC 2760 I 

919-546-8344 

rnkalu@shawu.cdu 

VIII. SIGNATURES 

U.S. Small Business Administration: 

Name: Lynn Douthett 

Title: District Director 

Address: 6302 Fairview Road 

Charlotte NC 28210 

Tel: 704-344-6563 

e-mail: lynn.douthctt@sba.gov 

The signatories below represent that they have the authority to make such commitments on 

behalf of their respective organization: 

U.S. Small Business Administration: 

Mina Wales, Director ofStrategic Alliance 

Cassius Butts. Regional Administrator 

L} nn Douthett. District Director 

North Carolina District Oftice 

Shaw University: 

Date 

Date 

Date 

313 
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CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY 

April30, 2019 

To 

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS 

Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations 

"Lost Opportunities? SBA's Engagement with Historically Black Colleges and Universities." 

The Honorable Judy Chu, Chairwoman 

and 

The Honorable Ross Spano, Ranking Member 

By 

Barron H. Harvey, Ph.D., CPA 

Dean and KPMG Endowed Professor 

School of Business 

Howard University 

The Honorable Judy Chu and The Honorable Ross Spano and distinguished Members of the 

Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of enhancing and expanding SBA's 

partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 

Importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are more important today than ever! From an 

educational perspective, the nation's one hundred and six HBCUs represent 3% of America's Colleges 

and Universities and yet they represent nearly 20% of all African-Americans who receive college degrees 

and a little over 25% of African-American graduates in the areas of science, technology, engineering and 

mathematics. In a Gallup- Purdue survey it was noted that HBCU graduates were more likely to have 

felt supported while in college and to be thriving afterwards than their black peers who attended 

predominately white institutions. Historically Black Colleges and Universities are also top producers of 

African-Americans receiving PhD's in Science and Engineering, as well. 

The total economic impact of HBCU's is significant and growing. It is estimated that HBCU's generate 

more than $15 billion in economic impact annually. Spending by National HBCUs and its students 

generates positive economic benefits. Historically Black Colleges and Universities are the economic 

engines in their communities, creating jobs, increasing economic well-being, providing social benefits 

such as arts and culture and graduating students who are going to have a positive impact in their 

communities and generate billions upon billions of dollars of economic benefit. Historically Black 
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Colleges and Universities serve as significant and essential economic drivers, both on their campuses 

and their local communities. 

Howard University, for example, generates more than $1.5 billion in total economic impact for its local 

and regional economies. This includes direct spending by Howard University on faculty, employees, 

academic programs and operations-and by students attending the institution, as well as the follow-on 

effects of that spending. Every dollar spent by Howard University and its students produces positive 

economic benefits for its local and regional economies. Communities and regions hoping to foster a 

more robust and diversified economic climate find HBCU-connected spending a critical component of 

that effort. Howard University generates 9,591 jobs for its local and regional economies. Of this total, 

3,301 are on-campus jobs, and 6,290 are off-campus jobs. For each job created on campus, another 1.9 

public- and private-sector jobs are created off campus because of Howard University-related spending. 

Finally, the estimated lifetime earnings for each Howard University's graduating class is more than $6 

billion. 

Today, Historically Black Colleges and Universities are continuing their legacy of educational excellence. 

As a reflection of their importance, many HBCU's are seeing an increase in their enrollment. As was 

further stated, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities continue to produce a disproportionate 

number of college graduates, relative to their size and enrollment. 

The importance of HBCUs also can be reflected in the role that these unique educational institutions 

provide in closing the racial wealth gap. Although many HBCU graduates have large student loan debt, 

compared to their white counterparts, their degrees have aided them in closing that wealth gap. As 

stated earlier, HBCU graduates are getting advanced degrees in STEM related disciplines. For example, 

more than 50% of black engineers and 65% of black doctors have earned their degrees from Historically 

Black Colleges and Universities. 

Historically Black College and Universities have provided long standing resources for their communities 

and have served as a catalyst to produce sustainable economic growth. Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities have long collaborated with their communities to address workplace problems and find 

viable, sustainable solutions and new opportunities. 

State of Minorities and African-Americans Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners 

Entrepreneurship and small business ownership for minorities including African-Americans have made 

impactful progress over the last six years, but there is still much more to be done. We should note that 

there are more than 2.5 million black-owned businesses in United States, which generates more than 

$150 billion in revenue. However, a major challenge for African American small businesses is growing to 

size. For example, the top 100 Black Owned Businesses in a recent Black Enterprise Magazine's ranking 

show $27 billion in revenue and employment of nearly 80,000 workers. These numbers do represent a 

continual growth over the previous years but if we look at it compared to some of the major Fortune 

100 Companies, the collective impact of African-American top small businesses is minuscule. Walmart 

for example reports more than 20 times the revenue that the collective 100 black-owned businesses 

earn and employ more than 2.2 million workers. The data really states that entrepreneurship and small 

business ownership of African-Americans is still a significant challenge. U.S. Census data shows that over 

90% of Latino and black-owned firms do not have even one employee other than its owner. Minority 

women are the fastest growing demographic in entrepreneurship and black women owned businesses 

have grown by nearly 68% in the five-year period of 2007 to 20 12 according to U.S. Census data. Add to 

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that the proportion of owner only firms reaches close to 90% for African-American female business 

owners. The reality is that black-owned businesses are of small scale compared to their white 

counterparts, but this represents an opportunity for the Small Business Administration, Small Business 

Development Centers, and Minority and African-American businesses. 

Today, more than 71% of all US businesses are white-owned, with African-Americans owning about 2.6 

million businesses or 9.S% of all US businesses and Latinos owning 3.3 million businesses, which is nearly 

12.2% of all U.S. businesses. However, the revenue and employment numbers are depressing. Of the 19 

million businesses owned by White Americans, they have 88% of the overall sales and 87% of the U.S. 

employment while African-American businesses have 1.3% of the total U.S. revenues and 1.7 of the 

nation's employees. This represents significant challenges and great opportunities. 

Entrepreneurship and small business ownership have always been a strategy that minorities and AfricanAmericans have used to bridge the racial wealth gap. Small business ownership has long been seen, 

particularly by minorities and African-Americans, as the way to create wealth and economic impact in 

their communities. However, the racial wealth gap continues to be large and has not shown any signs of 

closing. The white households living near the poverty line typically have about $18,000 in wealth, while 

black households in similar economic straits typically has zero wealth. At the other end of the spectrum, 

black families in the 99th percentile are worth $1.6 million, while white families in the 99th percentile 

are worth $12 million. African-Americans while representing 13% of the nation's population, collectively 

own less than 3% of the nation's total wealth. The take away here is that there is a need for new 

strategies in assisting black businesses in their development and growth, which will aid in bridging the 

racial wealth gap, as well as increasing employment and economic impact for their respective 

communities. 

The challenge for minority business owners is that of access to capital. African-American owned 

businesses still have a harder time in securing financing than white owners of small businesses. In fact, 

more than one third of minority owned firms with gross revenues under $SOO,OOO would not apply for a 

business loan for fear of rejection. This presents a great opportunity for unique and special programs to 

prepare small business owners, particularly African-American business owners for the loan application 

process and to provide an opportunity for them to work with bankers around strategies for success. 

To further reinforce the challenges that minority and African-American small-business owners have in 

securing SBA loans, a 2014 study at Brigham Young University recruited mystery shoppers to go and 

seek small business loans. Three were African-Americans, three were Hispanic, and three were White. 

They all wore the same clothing and had nearly identical backgrounds and asked for $60,000 in business 

loans. What was found was that there is still significant racial bias in seeking business loans. The 

minority small business owners were given less long-term information, were asked more questions 

about their personal finance, and offered less application support than the White business owners. The 

study also found that continuous denial, rejection, and restricted access to loans for minority small 

business owners lead to lower self-esteem and impacted feelings of self-worth. The reality is that there 

is still a significant challenge for African-Americans and Minorities to be successful in securing small 

business loans even when their economic profile is exactly the same as their white counterpart. 

Since the end of the great recession, the number of loans going to African-American business owners 

has declined and many are feeling as if the African-American business community is missing out on the 

economic recovery that America is experiencing. There are some concerns that SBA lending practices 

provide economic benefits to more affluent communities and less and those that are in need of 

economic stimulus. A study has shown that in 2009, 5% of SBA's 7a loans with African-American 

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businesses but by 2014 that figure had declined to 2%. The decrease was even worse for SBA's 504 loan 

guarantee program where lending to African-American businesses went from $134 million in $2009 to 

$48 million in 2014 representing a 64% decline. 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the U.S. Small Business Administration 

The U.S. Small Business Administration has a Small Business Development Center Network, which are 

service centers that offer a wide variety of support to small businesses, entrepreneurs, students and 

communities. The network is made up of 63 lead small business development centers which are funded 

by the small business administration. Of those 63, two are at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 

There are also over 963 entities, including Colleges, Universities and Non profits that are part of the 

overall National Small Business Development Center Network. This means that 900 of these 

organizations in the network are subcontractors to the lead centers. Of these 900 entities in the 

network, only 16 are at HBCUs. It is important to note that SBA also operates more than 100 women 

business centers throughout its network and only one of those centers is located at an HBCU. It is also 

important to note that SBA co-sponsored 880 activities with non-HBCUs entities to foster and encourage 

entrepreneurship and just 10 activities with six HBCUs. 

This points to a disparity on the part of SBA and its approach and process to foster and encourage 

education and small-business assistance to the minority community, specifically African-American 

communities. As stated previously, HBCUs have long been a significant of source of education and 

economic development within minority communities. The Small Business Administration needs to 

increase its presence at HBCUs if it truly seeks to increase the participation rate of African-Americans 

and Minorities in its various programs. 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities also can provide a tremendous opportunity for the Small 

Business Administration through its SBDCs to educate the next generation of entrepreneurs in the 

Minority and African-American communities. It is recommended that SBA and it's SBDCs work with 

HBCUs to craft educational programs that will have college credit and at the same time increase 

knowledge and awareness of entrepreneurship and small business ownership of HBCU students. Part of 

the Small Business Administration's overall strategy to increase more minority and African-Americans 

participation in its programs and to gain success in entrepreneurship and small business ownership. 

Therefore, a unique and special partnership on behalf of the SBDCs and HBCUs to collaborate and offer 

for college credit courses for HBCU students in a variety of academic areas including Science, 

Technology, Engineering, Business and Medicine. 

Howard University and the District of Columbia Small Business Development Center Network 

The District of Columbia Small Business Development Center (DCSBDC) Network is a partnership 

between Howard University and the Small Business Administration. Established in 1979 we were invited 

to be in the pilot program that established the first Small Business Development Centers around the 

country. We are celebrating 40 years of an outstanding economic impactful partnership. Out of the 62 

lead centers Howard University is one of two HBCU's in the program, the University of the US Virgin 

Islands in St. Thomas is the other. Howard University is the only private university that is a lead center. 

Additionally, there are close to 1000 centers located across the country. We at Howard University are 

very proud of the accomplishments of our Lead Center as well as our strategic partners across the 

District. Our economic impact in the District of Colombia since 2013 has been significant: 

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Clients Served 2,082 

Jobs Created 2,255 

Loan Assistance $33,196,941.00 

As far as what the SBA could do, we believe much more can be done if each HBCU had the opportunity 

to be a part of the national SBDC network. The economic impact that Howard and our SBDC has on the 

Washington, DC community can be easily replicated across this country. Most if not all HBCU's are 

located in underserved communities, if the SBA spent more money helping the HBCU's in those 

communities to assist with establishing a SBDC to assist with small business development and job 

creation we will see real growth and economic prosperity in those communities. 

The opportunities of an Enhanced and Expanded Strategic Partnership 

Education 

The SBA and its small business development center networks are missing out on a tremendous 

educational opportunity- providing education to the next generation of African-American and minority 

entrepreneurs and small businesses. The historically black colleges and universities including their 

students and faculty in the areas of science, engineering and technology, business and medicine should 

engage in a collaboration to develop a series of training courses that would be beneficial to HBCU 

students as they prepare for their professional careers. This is very important because this is a 

wonderful opportunity to provide essential entrepreneurship education and training, while also 

educating future entrepreneurs about programs that are available through the US small business 

administration and its SBDC network. A recommendation would be to have the faculty and the staffing 

of SBDCs develop a two-part series which would be equal to two elective courses for students as well as 

entrepreneurs and small businesses. The first part of the series would be a training and understanding of 

the SBA programs and activities available for current and future entrepreneurs and business owners. An 

example would be the SBA's young entrepreneur series that is offered by Johnson C Smith University in 

North Carolina. The second part of the series would focus on functional areas of small-business success 

such as marketing, strategic planning, finance, sales, and service etc. An example of this kind of training 

is offered by the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center and its Maximum Series, 

which focuses on six functional areas: marketing, human resources, service, social media, finance, and 

retail sales. It is also recommended that SBDCs have student training and education as part of their 

annual goals including minority and women participation. 

Research 

Another opportunity for SBA and it's SBDC Network to engage HBCUs and that is in research. Historically 

Black Colleges and Universities their faculty and graduate students provide an excellent resource for 

local and regional research on small business ownership challenges and identifying success strategies. 

Small Business Development Centers on a competitive basis can provide HBCU faculty in the areas of 

sciences, technology, engineering, business, and medicine, small supporting research grants to conduct 

surveys and research to identify unique problems and opportunities for that particular region, city, or 

locale. In addition, HBCU faculty would be very instrumental in working with SBA to develop new 

strategies that are more effective for financing for African-Americans and Minority business owners who 

are challenged currently by the process of obtaining SBA loans. 

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HBCU SBDC Student Externship Program 

Small Business Development Centers should develop an externship program for HBCU students to assist 

African-American and Minority business owners, while receiving college credit. Since many African 

American small business businesses begin with only one employee, the owner, they are lacking in 

technical expertise. Historically Black Colleges and Universities business schools and engineering schools 

can provide up to 10 hours a week of student assistance to a business owner in the areas of accounting, 

marketing, technology, social media, innovation, etc. The program will have African-American 

entrepreneurs and Minority business owners filling out student technical assistance requests and 

specific to the areas of their need. The assignment will be for an entire semester and would be a 

maximum of 10 hours a week for the HBCUs student. Students will receive college credit and a small 

stipend for expenses. Finally, SBDCs should annually holds an annual conference on entrepreneurship 

for students and small business owners. 

HBCUs and Technology Transfer Programs 

The Small Business Innovation Research Program or SBIR and the Small Business Technology Transfer or 

SBTI our program are significant contributors to U.S. innovation by the America's Small Business 

community. The SBIR program has four major goals: (1) to stimulate technological innovation; (2) to use 

more businesses to meet federal research and development needs; (3) foster and encourage 

participation in innovation and technology by minorities and disadvantage individuals; and (4) increased 

private-sector commercialization of innovation derived from federal research and development funding. 

The STIR program goals include, stimulating technological innovation, foster technology transfer 

through cooperative research and development between small businesses and research institutions, and 

increase private-sector commercialization of innovation derived from federal research and 

development. Important to note that the SBIR program has a legislative mandate to foster and 

encourage participation in innovation and entrepreneurship by minority and disadvantaged persons. 

Unfortunately, data from the U.S. small business administration shows that SBIR are awards to women 

and minorities fall far short of their representation and the potential applicant pool measured by 

business ownership. It is stated that women and minority owned businesses receive less than 16% of all 

SBIR awards. Of that amount, 6% go to women-owned firms and less than 10% go to minority owned 

firms. When you take into consideration the 51% of U.S. population is made up of women and women 

make up 27% of STEM graduates this number is appalling in addition African-American Asians and 

Native Americans constitute 36% of the U.S. population and 26% of the STEM graduates. Add to these 

sobering facts the fact that the Department of Defense has not made any sustain efforts to foster or 

encourage the participation of women and minority businesses and the SBIR program. 

Historically Black College and Universities create a unique and special opportunity to increase the 

number of African-Americans awareness of the United States Government Technology Transfer 

Programs as well as increasing their participation in these very important programs. Each lead SBDC 

center should be required to host at least one SBIR/STIR workshop on the campus of the HBCU's 

represented in their state. SBA should also allow funding for the advertising of this important program 

initiative. This should be a nationwide campaign initiated by SBA and implemented by the Small Business 

Development Centers across this nation. 

I would also recommend that the Small Business Administration utilizing the SBDCs engage in an 

HBCU/ SBIR road tour. In 2018, the U.S. Small Business Administration, conducted a road tour to 

promote awareness of the small business innovation research program and the small business 

technology transfer program at selected HBCUs. The focus was to increase the awareness and education 

to faculty, students and small businesses in the surrounding communities of HBCU's. The HBCUs visited 

included Johnson C. Smith University, Clark Atlanta University, Alabama A&M University, and Jackson 

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State University. The recommendation would be that the road tours would visit all HBCU's in a two-year 

cycle. Again, the road tour would increase awareness of these technology transfer programs, serve as a 

forum for participation and collaboration, and foster future strategic planning on the part of HBCU's, 

their students as well as small business owners of that community. 

Concluding Recommendations 

Small business development centers should be established at all HBCU's. 

Small business development centers should be required to track its assistance to minorities and 

women owned enterprises as well as HBCUs who have strategic memorandums and or sub 

centers on their campuses. 

SBDCs in concert with HBCUs should develop a college credit entrepreneurship training series 

with a focus on students in the sciences technology engineering business and medicine. 

SBDCs and HBCUs develop a student externship program where students in business 

engineering technology and the sciences can provide much-needed consulting services for 

African-American, women own and minority small businesses in their communities. 

Provide funding for HBCU faculty and graduate students to conduct research on the problems, 

opportunities, and challenges of African-American and minority entrepreneurs and small 

business owners in their specific community. 

• It recommended that SBA, in partnership with HBCU's, develop an SBA Loan Candidacy program 

designed to prepare minority and women loan applicants for SBA guaranteed loans and for 

recently denied minority and women applicants. The SBA Loan Candidacy program implemented 

by the SBDC will work with candidates to provide a path to loan application success. 

U.S. Small Business Administration convene a conference with SBA District Directors, Executive 

Directors of Small Business Development Centers and The National HBCU Business Deans 

roundtable to engage a dialog and discussions about strategies and recommendations regarding 

enhancing and expanding the partnership. The National HBCU Business Deans Roundtable, 

established in 1999, consists of approximately 65 business programs across the country. The 

Roundtable was formed to provide a forum for deans of HBCU business schools to collaborate 

on opportunities and challenges with expanding business programs and initiatives. The 

organization also works to develop strategic partnerships with various businesses to provide 

essential tools and resources for student success. 

An overarching recommendation is that SBA implement a unique and special partnership with HBCUs, 

including expanding the number of SBDC subcenters at HBCUs from 16 to more than 50. strategically 

located in communities and areas of great need for economic impact. 

Thank you for this opportunity to present testimony on behalf of Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities. 

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DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY 

April26, 2019 

Congress of the United States 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Committee on Small Business 

OFFICE OF THE DEAN 

2361 Rayburn House Office Building 

Washington, DC 20515-6315 

Dear Small Business Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations: 

Please accept my written testimony below in response to the Committee on Small 

Business Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations invitation to the 

hearing titled, "Lost Opportunities? SBA's Engagement with Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities. 

Experience 

My tenure at Delaware State University (DSU) has included faculty and administrative 

roles in the division of both academic and student affairs. I have served in the role of an 

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and as a Dean of both the Graduate School 

and currently the College of Business. Additionally, I serve as the founding Director and 

Principal Investigator (PI) of the Delaware State University Center for Economic 

Development and International Trade (UCEDIT), a U.S. Economic Development 

Administration University Center charged with leveraging University resources for 

economic development initiatives throughout the State of Delaware and the founding 

Director of the Economic Development and Leadership Institute at Delaware State 

University, which provides underrepresented students with theoretical, practical and 

experiential learning in the field of economic development while introducing and 

cultivating the tenants of effective leadership in developing economies both domestically 

and abroad. 

It is through these experiences that I have had the opportunity to engage the Small 

Business Administration (SBA) on small business development initiatives as well as 

recognize several opportunities for the SBA to deepen its relationship with DSU. 

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DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY 

OFFICE OF THE OEA:-1 

Delaware State University's Current and Past Partnership with the Small Business 

Administration 

• DSU served as a lead SBDC until 2004. 

• The University's Delaware Center for Enterprise Development (DCED) received 

four SBDC sub-awards from the University of Del.aware between 2014 and 2017 

totaling approximately $100k to provide technical assistance to clients in Kent 

County. 

• DCED received an SBA PRIME grant from 2009-2011. The funds from the SBA 

PRIME grant were used to establish a Mobile Entrepreneurial Training initiative 

for small business owners and emerging entrepreneurs. 

• In 2019, the DCED signed a service agreement with the University of Delaware's 

SBDC to provide services to Kent County residents. 

Potential Areas of Development 

The SBA support referenced above has provided specific clients with invaluable insight 

and resources for furthering their own enterprises. However, the impact of the SBA's 

funding and services could be exponentially more significant if the University and the 

SBA strategically worked together to develop targeted programming that effectively 

integrates the talent and resources of both entities. 

To this end, there are three areas of focus that the SBA can engage the University that 

would further both of their mission; (1) infrastructure, (2) alumni/community partnerships 

and, (3) student engagement. 

1. University Capacity Building: Not unlike many universities across the country, 

Research, Teaching, and Service represent the three pillars in higher education. 

However, there is one distinct difference when comparing Historically Black 

Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to Predominantly White Institutions (PWI), 

their ability to effectively monetize their research and service. HBCUs have 

traditionally, and currently focused their revenue generation efforts on the 

enterprise of Teaching; pressing their respective Admission Offices to increase 

enrollment to support growing financial gaps with little attention being given to 

Research and Service. Contrarily, Universities such as John's Hopkins and the 

University of Washington garner up to $2 billion in federal funding alone for their 

research and service activities. These institutions have effectively leveraged the 

full capacity of their brain trust by deploying the expertise of their faculty, staff, 

and students to solve many of the world's most challenging problems. The ability 

of these universities to effectively and efficiently deploy their resources for the 

public good is not by chance but rather by design. And it is this design that our 

University and many other HBCUs could utilize the expertise within the SBA to 

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DELAWARE STATE UNIV~~RSITY 

OFFICE OF TilE !lEAN 

develop further. SBA opportunities such as SBIR and STTR, in addition to the 

billions of product and service needs of the federal government and private 

sector, requires a university's infrastructure that is designed to leverage its 

assets both immediately and efficiently. For example, the SBA can play a critical 

knowledge role in HBCUs' pursuit of the creation of Centers of Excellence 

designed to respond to global product and service needs through innovation. 

2. Alumni/Community: The fastest growing population of entrepreneurs are 

African Americans, specifically African American women. However, even though 

this high propensity to become their own boss, African Americans' road to 

business stability and expansion is paved with limited access to capital, 

professional networks and technical "know how." However, a viable partnership 

between HBCUs and the SBA, uniquely weaving and tailoring their various 

assets, could provide the necessary platform to engage the African American 

small business community as well as plug the resource gaps. For example, 

HBCUs are uniquely linked to African American community organizations such 

as fraternities and sororities, ministerial alliances, Urban Leagues and 

agricultural associations (for the land grant institutions), all of whom have 

economic development as part of their mission. Moreover, DSU, like many other 

HBCUs, has a large first generation population representing many of the 

metropolitan areas of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Thus, the SBA, in 

partnership with HBCUs, can create a network of services that extends into the 

communities that they represent. 

3. University Student Engagement: Per a recent Young Entrepreneur Foundation 

survey, 90% of teachers and guidance counselors say their students are 

interested in becoming entrepreneurs; however, 75% of them say their students 

have no idea where to go for guidance. Unfortunately, the cultivation of this 

phenomenon amongst incoming freshmen and upperclassmen is often absent in 

our HBCUs due to lack of resources and/or capacity. However, a strategic 

partnership with the SBA could be vital in our efforts to design and provide this 

knowledge and skill base via curricula and co-curricular activities. For example, 

the establishment of multidisciplinary innovation labs shared entrepreneurial 

ideation, and development spaces and skills training are areas where the SBA's 

resources and expertise could play a vital role in the development of our 

students' business acumen. 

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DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY 

Thank you, 

Michael H. Casson Jr., Ph.D. 

Dean, College of Business 

OFFICE OF HIE OEAN 

Director, University Center for Economic Development and International Trade (UCEDIT) 

Director, Economic Development and Leadership Institute (EDLI) 

Associate Professor of Economics 

Delaware State University 

IN!m\.<ll~ ~tate l 'nJ'i n~l!~ 1$ Hll Cc]Hill Ppfwrtun!t\ 

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Testimony Provided to the 

Committee on Small Business' Subcommittee on Investigations, 

Oversight, and Regulations 

United States House of Representatives 

Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis 

President 

Benedict College 

April 30, 2019 
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Dr. Roslyn Clarl{ Artis 

Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis has earned, for the second time, the distinct honor of serving as the firstfemale President of a collegiate institution in the United States. 

On June 30,2017, Dr. Atiis was unanimously appointed by the Board of Trustees as the 14th 

President of Benedict College. She is the first-female President in the 147-ycar history of the 

college which was founded by a woman, Mrs. Bathsheba Benedict, in 1870. 

Intentional, professional and thoroughly committed to the proliferation and transformation of 

colleges and universities that serve underrepresented men and women of eolor, Dr. Artis brings to 

Benedict College a depth of knowledge in higher education and enthusiasm for students' success 

that is unmatched in today's higher education arena. 

In her brief tenure at the helm of Benedict, Dr. Artis has led a remarkable institutional 

transformation that included lowering tuition, increasing aeademie standards, stabilizing the 

institution's financial position, streamlining academic degree programs and upgrading the 

institution's technology infrastructure. These efforts resulted in Benedict College receiving the 

2019 ACE/Fidelity Investments Institutional Transformation Award, which recognizes institutions 

who have met higher education challenges in a particularly innovative or creative way and realized 

positive results in a relatively short period of time. 

Dr. Artis eomes to Benedict College from Florida Memorial University in Miami where she served 

for four years as the 13th President and the first female President in that University's 138-ycar 

history. During her tenure, she provided immeasurable leadership and direction to the Florida 

Memorial University family. Among her many achievements were the significant technology 

enhancements on campus, new facility construction, innovative partnerships, as well as increased 

national exposure and resource development for the institution in the areas of STEM, 

Cybersecurity, and Social Justice. 

Dr. Artis is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she earned a Doctorate in Higher Education 

Leadership and Policy. She also holds a Juris doctorate Jhlm West Virginia University College of 

Law, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from sister HBCU, West Virginia State 

University. The consummate professional, Dr. Artis also holds a Certificate of Fundraising 

Management from Indiana University and a Certificate of Mastery in Prior Leaming Assessment 

from DePaul University. 

A native of Beckley, WV, Dr. Artis et1joycd a robust civil litigation practice, prior lo embarking 

on a career in academia. A strong community activist, Dr. Artis is past Chair ofthe WV Board of 

Law Examiners and a past president of the Mountain State Bar Association·· the oldest minority 

bar association in the country. 

A prolific speaker, critical thinker and fierce advocate tor educational access, Dr. Atiis has been 

recognized for her work locally and nationally and is frequently engaged as a mentor, lecturer, and 

catalyst for strategic transformation. Her passion for education, youth development, and service 

to the community is manifested through her work with numerous organizations including Delta 

Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Links, lnc. and Jack & Jill of America. 
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Executive Summary 

Subcommittee Chairwoman Judy Chu, Ranking Member Ross Spano, and Members 

of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. 

My name is Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, and I serve as the 14'h President of Benedict 

College (Benedict). Pounded in 1!\70 by a woman, Bathsheba A. Benedict, the 

institution is a private co-educational liberal arts institution with 2,100 students 

enrolled in its 34 baccalaureate degree programs during the 2017-201 R academic year. 

Benedict has been highly regarded and exceptionally ranked for its programs by 

several academic and traditional publications, including the Washington Monthly 

magazine as one of the top baccalaureate colleges in the nation for creating social 

mobility, producing cutting-edge scholarship, and research. 

I was asked to testify before the subcommittee about Benedict's experiences and 

relationship with the Small Business Administration (SBA). Benedict has a College 

Business Development Center (BDC) located on campus and this center currently has 

a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAl\11) with the SBA. The initial SAM was signed 

by Benedict on October 30, 2013, and the most recent SAM was signed on April 9, 

2019. This contractual agreement with the SB1\ through its South Carolina District 

Office has the purpose of helping start, maintain, and expand small businesses. 

Through this agreement since 2013, Benedict has been able to-

• Host three SBA business roundtable discussions in 2013, 2014, and 2015; 

• Complete an agreement with the FDIC regional office to utilize the Money 

Smart Financial Literacy Curriculum with Benedict College students and 

Community residents in 2014; 

• Host a Business Management Training Course for local entrepreneurs N X 

Level Training in 2016; 

• Partner with the Benedict-Allen Community Development Center (CDC) to 

provide technical assistance pertaining to marketing, accounting, and 

management to borrowers of the CDC's Benedict Minority Loan Fund from 

2013 to 2016; 

• Restructure the technical assistance and incubator program within the BDC in 

201!\;and 

• Create the student Innovation Hub program within the BDC in 201!\. 

While Benedict has been able to benefit from the SAM with the SBA, there are 

improvements that could be implemented to further enhance the relationship between 

the two entities such as: 

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• As a part of the SAM, developing an action plan or timetable of program 

activities or events that can be implemented in partnership between Benedict 

College and the SBA; 

• Designating specific resources (program funds, staff, etc.) that can be utilized 

by both parties for use in implementing the SAM; 

• Assisting the college through the use of new and existing SBA relationships; 

• Strengthening the SAM by committing financial resources from SBA to assist 

with business technical assistance through the college's BDC; and 

• Having the SBA provide co-branding support with Benedict College to assist 

with the marketing capacity to increase awareness in the surrounding 

community of the services provided through the relationship '.V'ith the SBA 

I would like to thank Chairwoman Nydia M. Vela7.que7., Representative Alma Adams, 

and the remaining Members of Congress for requesting that the Government 

Accountability Office (Gi\0) look into SBA's entrepreneurship efforts \\'ith HBCUs. 

We learned that SBA's goals, as identified in their 2018 strategic plan submitted to the 

Secretary of Education and the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on 

HBCUs, were to "(1) [raise] awareness and [provide] information that would help 

raise the capacity of HBCUs to participate in federally funded programs, and (2) 

promote collaboration among HBCUs and SBA resource partners and district 

offices." 

In an effort to accomplish goal number one, both the Small Business Innovation 

Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs were mentioned. SBA 

indicates that these programs are underutilized by HBCUs, but what the report fails to 

disclose is that funding requested for these very same programs in the FY 2020 

budget request was significantly lower at $3 million compared to the $5.99 million that 

was enacted in FY 2019, a $2.99 million dollar decrease. 

SB;\'s stated goals are a direct response to Executive Order (EO) 13779, and the 116'h 

Congress has taken measures to codify this EO. While the United States Senate has 

already passed S. 461, the HBCU Propelling Agency Relationships Towards a New 

Era of Results for Students (PARTNERS) Act, there remains concerns in the HBCU 

community regarding this legislation and whether or not it goes far enough to truly 

increase transparency within the Federal gm'ernment. H.R. 1054, the HBCU 

PARTNERS Act is similar to the Senate bill, but includes stronger provisions that 

would be supported by the HBCU community. 

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In conclusion, HBCUs are valuable institutions that not only contribute to society, but 

provide an invaluable experience for our students, especially our students who arc 

low-income and ftrst generation. I hope to see greater collaboration between SBA and 

HBCU s, and I also hope to see meaningful legislation passed in the 116'h Congress to 

truly strengthen EO 13779. 

For more information and details regarding my remarks, I ask that you read my 

written testimony submitted for your review. 

Thank you. 

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Full Testimony! 

Introduction 

Subcommittee Chairwoman judy Chu, Ranking Member Ross Spano, and Members 

of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. 

My name is Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, and I serve as the 14'h President of Benedict 

College (Benedict). Founded in 1870 by a woman, Bathsheba A. Benedict, the 

institution is a private co-educational liberal arts institution with 2,100 students 

enrolled in its 34 baccalaureate degree programs during the 2017-2018 academic year. 

Benedict has been highly regarded and exceptionally ranked for its programs by 

several academic and traditional publications, including the Washington Monthly 

maga:dne as one of the top baccalaureate colleges in the nation for creating social 

mobility, producing cutting-edge scholarship, and research. 

Benedict offers several high-demand fields of study in STEM, Cyber Security, Mass 

Communication, Sport Management, Business Administration, Engineering, 

Computer Science, Biology, and Education. Benedict has a diverse faculty of which 80 

percent are full-time, and 60 percent hold doctorates or the equivalent. The institution 

made front-page news in the spring of 2018 when it became the ftrst South Carolina 

college to lower its tuition by 26 percent. Cutting tuition drew praise from the 

Commission on Higher Education, South Carolina's education oversight body. The 

commissioner noted the move that Benedict has made should be applauded because it 

offers students more access to higher education and affordability. 

With a vision to be a leader in providing trans formative learning experiences for a 

diverse student body, det1ned by superior cultural and professional competencies that 

are nurtured and developed by faculty, staff and stakeholders who value innovation, 

customer service, community and industry engagement, Benedict is an institution that 

is not only a best buy for students, but one that is intentional with how to bring about 

true student success. 

HBCU History and Statistics 

I would like to thank Representative Alma Adams for making the request and 

Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez and the remaining Members of Congress for 

joining her in requesting that the Government Accountability Oft1ce (GAO) look into 

1 This testimony largely mirrors the by Dr. Paulette Dillard in that (l) both testimonies are from private 

HBCUs that arc impacted in the same manner the Federal government anJ both HBCUs have SAMs with the 

SB~\. You will find the main differences in testimony to be the details reg-arding Strategic .\lliance Memorandums 

with the Small Business Administration. 

7 
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SEA's entrepreneurship efforts with HBCUs. Before we dive into the findings in the 

report, I think that it is imperative that we all understand the history of these rich and 

invaluable institutions we call HBCUs. 

HBCUs were created as early as 1837 to provide African Americans access to higher 

education. Noted for their contributions in educating "black, low-income and 

educationally disadvantaged Americans," the 101 accredited HBCUs today constitute 

the class of institutions that satisfy the statutory definition of the term "HBCU" as 

defined in the Higher Edttwtion Ad of 1965. 

HBCUs disproportionately enroll low-income, first-generation and academically 

underprepared college students-precisely the students that the country most needs 

to obtain college degrees. In 2017: 

• Nearly 300,000 students attended HBCUs2; 

• More than 75 percent of HBCU students were African Americans; and 

• 70 percent of all students at HBCUs received federal Pel! Grants, and 78 

percent of these students received federal loans. ·

1 

HBCUs comprised 3 percent of all two- and four-year non-profit colleges and 

uni,-ersities, yet they: 

• EnrolllO percent of African American undergraduates; 

• Produce 17 percent of all African American college graduates with bachelor's 

degrees; and 

• Graduate 24 percent of African Americans with bachelor's degrees in STEM 

fields. 4 

,\ 2015 Gallup survey confirms that HBCUs are providing African American students 

with a better college experience than African American students at other colleges and 

universities. 

[Table 

Patterson usmg 

Postsecondary Education Data System. 

'!hid. 

8 
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• 55 percent of African American HBCU graduates say their college prepared 

them well for post-college life Yersus 29 percent for African American 

graduates of other institutions. 5 

HBCUs attained these results at an affordable price for students-that is, the cost of 

attendance at HBCUs is about 30 percent lower, on average, than other collegesdespite limited operating budgets and endowments that are roughly half the typical 

size of other four-year public and printe non-profit colleges and universities. 

Since our founding, F!BCUs have been, and continue to be, under-resourced 

institutions. An issue brief produced by ACE (American Council on Education) and 

UNCF (United Negro College Fund, Inc.) revealed the following: 

• Public HBCUs rely more heavily on federal, state, and local funding in 

comparison with their non-HBCU counterparts (54 percent of oyerall revenue 

vs 38 percent); 

• Private HBCUs depend a little bit more on tuition dollars than their nonHBCUs counterparts (45 percent compared with 37 percent); 

• PriYate gifts, grants, and contracts constitute a smaller portion of overall 

revenue at private HBCUs compared to their non-HBCU counterparts (17 

percent YS 25 percent); 

• Public and Private HBCUs experienced the largest declines in federal funding 

per full-time equivalent student between 2003-2015; and 

• In both the public and private sectors, HBCU endowments lag behind those of 

non-HBCUs by at least 70 percent. 6 

Despite being under-resourced institutions, HBCl.Js have a large economic impact 

that often goes unnoticed by most. In2017, UNCF released a report detailing the 

economic impact of HBCUs. The report revealed that in 2014, the impact of HBCUs 

on their regional economies included: 

• $10.3 biltion in initial spending, which includes spending by the institution for 

personnel services, spending by the institution for operating expenses, and 

spending by students; 

Privatc-ln\·estments-and-Divestments-in-HRCUs.al:lpx 

histon·ca!£y blfltk collf'gts and tmitJtrsities. 

https:/ /www.acenet.edu/new$~room/Pag-es/Public-and9 
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• An employment impact of 134,090 jobs, which approximately 43 percent were 

on-campus jobs and 57 percent were off-campus jobs; 

• $10.1 billion in terms of gross regional product, \vhich is a measure of the value 

of production of all industries; 

• A work-life earnings of $130 billion for the Class of 2014, which is 56 percent 

more than they could expect to earn without their 2014 certiticates or degrees; 

and 

• A total economic impact of $14.8 billion.7 

In addition to the positive impact HBCUs make on the overall economy, HBCUs also 

haYe a strong impact academically when observed at the state and local level. An 

upcoming report to be released by UNCF shows that: 

• HBCUs comprised 8.5 percent of the four-year institutions across the 21 states 

and territories in the analysis; 

• Across the 21 states and territories in the analysis, HBCUs enrolled, on average, 

24 percent of all black undergraduates pursuing a bachelor's degree in a college 

or university in 2016; 

• Across the 21 states and territories in the analysis, on average, 26 percent of all 

black bachelor's degree recipients graduated from an HBCU in 2016; and 

• In my home state of North Carolina, HBCUs are 16 percent of the four-year 

institutions, but enroll45 percent of all black undergraduates and award 43 

percent of all black bachelor's degrees in the state. B 

GAO Report Findings 

While the GAO report does not address the resources directly at HBCUs, this report 

does examine "(1) federal priorities and SBA goals related to working with HBCUs, 

and (2) SBA's key programs and outreach activities for fostering entrepreneurship, 

particularly '.Vith HBCUs, and what is known about HBCU participation in these 

programs and activities."9 We learned that SBA's goals, as identified in their 2018 

strategic plan submitted to the Secretary of Education and the Executive Director of 

the White House Initiative on HBCUs, were to "(1) [raise] awareness and [provide] 

information that would help raise the capacity of HBCUs to participate in federally 

funded programs, and (2) promote collaboration among HBC:Us and SBA resource 

Office. 

10 
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partners and district offices." 10 The report goes on to describe ways that HBCUs 

could collaborate with SBA by identifying Small Business Development Centers 

(SBDC), Women's Business Centers (WBC), SCORE chapters, and Strategic Alliance 

Memorandums (SAM) as ways for HBCUs to engage. From this, we learned that: 

• out of 63 total organi?:ations that receive funding for SBDCs, HBCUs only 

account for 2 of those organizations; 

• out of more than 900 service centers in the SBDC network, HBCUs only 

account for 16 of those centers; and 

• out of 206 strategic alliance memorandums, HBCUs only account for 24 of 

those memorandums. 

It is not surprising that there is not more HBCU representation in the aforementioned 

ways HBCUs could collaborate with SBA, but what is surprising is what I have to say 

next. The report goes on to explain SBA's first goal to provide HBCUs with 

information on accessing and competing for federal grants and contracts in a bit more 

detail. Both the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology 

Transfer programs are mentioned. SBA indicates that these programs are 

undcrutilized by HBCUs, but what the report fails to disclose is that funding 

requested for these very same programs in the F'{ 2020 budget request was 

significantly lower at $3 million compared to the $5.99 million that was enacted in FY 

2019, a $2.99 miJJion dollar decrease. There are a total of 11 agencies that 

participate with the SBA regarding these two programs and only agencies with 

extramural budgets for research and development in excess of $1 billion are required 

to set aside certain targeted amounts for small business innovation. 

Strategic Alliance Memorandum 

Initial SAM with SBA 

I was asked to testify before the subcommittee about Benedict's experiences and 

relationship with the Small Business Administration (SBA). Benedict has a College 

Business Development Center (BDC) located on campus and this center currently has 

a Strategic .Alliance Memorandum (SAM) with the SBA. The initial SAM was signed 

between the BDC and the SBA on October 30, 2013. 11 This initial contractual 

agreement w-ith the SBA through its South Carolina District Office had a purpose of 

developing and fostering a working relationship to strengthen small business 

development in the local area. 

HlJbid. 

H See enclosure 1 

11 
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The BDC was established in 2002 with a mission to expand Benedict's role and 

overall effectiveness in addressing the economic and business development needs of 

small and minority-owned businesses in the metropolitan area of Columbia, South 

Carolina and throughout the State. At the BDC's core, it seeks to aid in job creation, 

increased business development, and more entrepreneurial opportunities for low-tomoderate income persons. In practice the BDC seeks to do the following: 

• expand and enhance the number of small and minority-owned businesses in the 

local community; 

• provide financial and technical support to these small businesses; 

• provide business training to local small businesses; 

• reduce business formation overhead costs to small businesses; and 

• provide a vehicle to increase contracting opportunities between small 

businesses and large corporations. 

Through this agreement since 2013, Benedict has been able to-

• Host three SBA business roundtable discussions in 2013, 2014, and 2015; 

• Complete an agreement with the FDIC regional office to utilize the Money 

Smart Financial Literacy Curriculum with Benedict College students and 

Community residents in 2014; 

• Host a Business Management Training Course for local entrepreneurs N X 

Level Training in 20 16; 

• Partner with the Benedict-Allen Community Development Center (CDC) to 

provide technical assistance pertaining to marketing, accounting, and 

management to borrowers of the CDC's Benedict lVIinority Loan Fund from 

2013 to 2016; 

• Restructure the technical assistance and incubator program within the BDC in 

2018; and 

• Create the student Innovation Hub program within the BDC in 2018. 

Second SAJ'vi with SBA 

On April 9, 2019, the BDC signed another SAl\f with SBA 12• This agreement was 

officialized to help start, maintain, and expand small businesses with the overall 

primary goal of meeting the needs of the business community. Specit!cally, SBA's role 

is to: 

12 Set' enclosure 2 

12 
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• provide the BDC with updated information about SBA's program and services; 

• upon request, make SBDCs, SCORE, WBDs, and Veteran Business Outreach 

Centers (VBOCs) available to the BDC for support; 

• provide access to SBA pamphlets, brochures, and other resource material upon 

request; 

• advise the BDC of events that may impact its mission; 

• provide speakers, counselors, and other technical assistance resources to 

participate in BDC workshops and other activities; 

• invite BDC's clients and members to attend local SEA-sponsored events and 

offer SBA-sponsored training at BDC's sponsored events; 

• provide a text-only hyperlink from SBA's website to the BDC's website; 

• provide infonnation and training to the BDC's staff on SBA programs and 

services; and 

• assign a local point of contact to serve as liaison between SBA and the BDC. 

BDC's role in the agreement includes: 

• cooperating with SBA's resource partners (SBDCs, SCORE, W'BDs, VBOCs, 

etc ... ) to provide necessary information to its clients and members about 

business development services; 

• disseminating updated information provided by SBA when needed; 

• distributing SBA pamphlets, brochures, and other publications; 

• informing clients and members of SBA's programs and services, to include 

referrals to SBA's Resource Partners; 

• providing speakers for SBA-sponsored events when needed; 

• providing a text-only hyperlink from BDC's website to SBA's website; and 

• assigning a local point of contact to serve as a liaison between the BC and SBA. 

Further Needs 

While Benedict has been able to benefit from the SAM \Vith the SBA, there are 

improvements that could be implemented to further enhance the relationship bet\veen 

the t\vo entities such as: 

• As a part of the SAM, developing an action plan or timetable of program 

activities or events that can be implemented in partnership bet\veen Benedict 

College and the SBA; 

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• Designating specific resources (program funds, staft~ etc.) that can be utilized 

by both parties for use in implementing the SAM; 

• 1\ssisting the college through the use of new and existing SBA relationships; 

• Strengthening the SAM by committing financial resources from SBA to assist 

with business technical assistance through the college's BDC; and 

• Having the SBA provide co-branding support with Benedict College to assist 

with the marketing capacity to increase awareness in the surrounding 

community of the services provided through the relationship with the SBA. 

Policy Recommendation 

The SBA submitted an agency plan to the Secretary of Education and the Executive 

Director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs due to Executive Order (EO) 

13779 released on February 28, 2017 by President Donald J. Trump. In this EO, the 

Secretary of Education and the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on 

HBCUs arc mandated to identify agencies that regularly interact with HBCUs and 

have them prepare an annual plan describing efforts to strengthen the capacity of 

HBCUs to participate in applicable Federal programs and initiatives. 13As described in 

the GAO report, this type of EO was first written in 1980, under EO 12232, in the 

Administration of President Jimmy Carter and established the White House Initiative 

on HBCUs. 

Although the Trump Administration followed suit and introduced an EO regarding 

the White House Initiative on HBCUs, this Administration also wanted to inquire 

about ways to further enhance the EO as well. Birthed from this were conversations 

with select representatives of the HBCU community and an introduction of S. 461, 

the HBCU Propelling Agency Relationships Towards a New Era of Results for 

Students (PARTNERS) Act. This bill, led by Senators Tim Scott and Chris Coons, 

gained 15 bipartisan cosponsors and passed the United States Senate on February 12, 

2019 by unanimous consent. In the United States House of Representatives, a similar 

bill was also introduced, H.R. 1054, the HBCU PARTNERS Act, led by 

Representatives Alma Adams and Mark Walker, with 8 bipartisan cosponsors. 

While I am thankful that Congress is in the process of codifying EO 13779, I would 

be remiss if I did not express some concern from those of the HBCU community 

regarding the version that passed the Senate. The law is binding, but EO's have a 

greater degree of flexibility. I am happy that EO 13532 further enhanced the White 

House Initiative on HBCUs to express the importance of working with our 

institutions, and I am happy that an EO 13779 continued this effort. 

" Exec Order No. 13779, 82 fiR 12499 (2017). 

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S. 461 was intended to codify EO 13779 but made some changes to both strengthen 

and weaken the EO. For instance, the legislation strengthened the EO by adding 

additional language to: 

• mandate that agencies who submit a plan describe any progress made towards 

advancing or achieving goals and efforts from preYious agency plans; 

• require the head of each applicable agency to submit their agency plans to the 

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House 

Committee on Education and Labor; and 

• mandate that the President's Board of Advisors advise the President in 

improving goyernment-wide strategic planning related 

to HBCU competitiveness to align Federal resources and provide the context 

for decisions about HBCU partnerships, investments, performance goals, 

priorities, human capital development and budget planning. 

The legislation weakened the EO by not including the requirement that the 

President's Board of Advisors "shall include representatiYes of a variety of sectors, 

including philanthropy, education, business, finance, entrepreneurship, innovation, 

and private foundations, as well as sitting HBCU presidents." S. 461 simply remains 

silent regarding who would serve on this important Board, and I believe that clarity 

should be provided especially since this is something that would be codified. 

The legislation also allows the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the 

Executive Director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs, to determine which 

Federal agencies "regularly interact'' with HBCUs in order to mandate those agencies 

to submit agency plans. While preYious EOs have included language allowing the 

Secretary of Education to determine which agencies would need to submit agency 

plans, a looming question remains as to the consistency of the agencies that would be 

considered to "regularly interact" \Vtth HBCUs from Administration to 

Administration. 

I strongly believe that our Federal government should be more transparent with their 

efforts to work with institutions like mine, and I believe that Congress could do a 

better job at oYersight of the Federal goYernment regarding their interactions with 

HBCUs if all agencies were required to submit an agency plan. I completely 

understand that not all agencies would have a relationship with HBCUs and in this 

case, it would be beneficial that these agencies simply state in their plan any efforts 

they could potentially take to identify specific HBCU initiatives and resources that 

could bendit the HBCU community. This proposal does not mandate that any 

resources be spent on HBCUs, but simply requests that all Federal agencies be 

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transparent and tell Congress, the Secretary of Education, and the Executive Director 

on the White House Initiative on HBCUs what is happening within the agency as it 

pertains to HBCUs. 

H.R. 1054 seeks to also codify EO 13779 and not only does it include the 

aforementioned language that strengthens the EO, it also mandates that all Federal 

agencies submit an agency plan. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, Benedict is one of many HBCUs that arc providing a high-quality 

education at an affordable price. Consistent with the mission of all HBCUs, Benedict 

is no stranger to taking a chance on those students who most would forget. Every 

low-income student deserves a chance to pursue their dreams and live a life free from 

poverty. I am proud to represent such a fine institution, and I am honored to present 

this testimony to you today. I hope to sec greater collaboration between SBA and 

HBCUs, and I also hope to see meaningful legislation passed in the 116'h Congress to 

truly strengthen EO 13779. I commend the Members of this committee for your 

service and for addressing these important issues. 

Thank you. 

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I. PURPOSE 

Strategic Alliance Memorandum 

11!ith the 

United States Small Business Administration 

mrdthe 

Benedict College Business Development Center 

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Benedict College 

Business Development Center (BDC) (each a "Pru:ty" or, collectively the "Parties") ru:e joined by 

a common mission; helping start, maintain, and expand small businesses. The Parties will 

wo.rk together in the spirit of cooperation and open cotnmunications, consistent with law, with the 

primaty goal of meeting the needs of the small business community. 

Established in 2002 as the brainchild of Benedict College's Harvard-educated 

President, Dr. David Swinton, the Benedict College Business Development Center (BDC) 

was created with a mission to expand the college's role and effectiveness in addressing the 

economic and business development needs of small and minority businesses. The center's 

goal is to create jobs, increase business development and provide entrepreneurial 

opportunities for low-to-moderate income persons. 

The mission of the BDC is to act as a catalyst for business development by 

increasing the economic capacity of small and minority-owned business in the metropolitan 

Columbia area and throughout South Carolina. BDC's Core Objectives are to expand and 

enhance the number of small and minority-owned businesses in the community, provide 

financial and technical support, and business training to entrepreneurs, reduce business 

formation overhead costs to small businesses and provide a vehicle to increase contracting 

opportunities between small businesses and large corporations 

TI1e mission of the SBA is to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business 

by providing financial, contractual and business development assistance and advocating 011 their 

behalf within d1e govemment. SBA district offices deliver SBA programs and services to the public. 

Each Party has separate services and resources which, when delivered in coordination with each 

other, will provide maximum benefits to the small business communities served. 

The purpose of this Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) is to develop and foster mutual 

understanding and a working relationship between the SBA and BDC in order to strengthen and 

expand small business development in the local area. The Parties acknowledge that specific joint 

training and outreach activities contemplated under this SAM require further negotiations and a 

separate signed agreement developed pursuant to SBA's cosponsorship authority. Nothing in this 

SAM permits BDC to use the SBA logo or seal. The "U.S. Small Business Administration" name 

shall be used only in a factual tnanner, consistent with applicable law, and shall not promote or 

endorse any products or services of any entity including but not limited to BDC. 

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In order to further their common goals, the Parties agree to the following: 

II. SCOPE AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

SBA Undertakings: 

Within the limits of its available and/ or appropriated resources, the SBA through its South 

Carolina District Office v.ill: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Provide BDC with up-to-date infonnation about SBA's programs and services . 

Make available, upon request, information regarding SBA's resow:ce partners, including 

but not limited to, the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), SCORE, 

Women's Business Centers (WBCs) and the Veteran Business Outreach Centers 

(VBOCs) (collectively, "SBA's Resource Partners"). 

Make available, upon request and subject to their availability, SBA pamphlets, brochw:es, 

and other publications. 

Advise BDC of events that may in1pact its mission • 

Provide speakers, consistent with SBA rules and policy, to participate in BDC 

workshops, conferences, seminars and other activities to discuss SBA financing, 

government conttactiog and other business topics. 

Invite BDC's clients/members to attend local SEA-sponsored events and offer SEAsponsored training at BDC's location when appropriate. 

Provide a text-only hyperlink from SBA's website to BDC's website pw:suant to SBA's 

linking policies. 

Provide information to BDC's staff on SBA progtams and services available to local 

small businesses. 

Assign a local point of contact to serve as liaison between SBA and BDC . 

BDC Undertakings: 

Within the limits of its avaihble resources, the Benedict College Business Development 

Center will: 

Cooperate with SBA's Resource Partners to provide information to its clients/members 

about business development services to small businesses when appropriate. 

Keep abreast of and disseminate up-to-date information provided by SBA when 

appropriate. 

• Make available to its clients/members SBA pamphlets, brochures, and other 

publications. 

• Inform BDC's small business clients/members ofSBA's programs and services 

including referrals to SBA's Resource Partners when appropriate. 

• Upon request, provide speakers fo:r SEA-sponsored events when appropriate. 

• Provide a text-only hyperlink from BDC's website to SBA's website, 

• Assign a local point of contact to serve as liaison between BDC and SBA. 

III. TERM 

Cooperation under thi> SAM will commence upon sigd.ng by both Parties and will contioue 

for a period of two years from date of signatw:e unless otherwise terminated by one or both 

Parties as per paragraph V below. 

IV. AMENDMENT 

The Parties agree to consult each other on any amendment, modification or clarification to 

the provisions of this SAM. 11tis SAM may only be amended or modified in writing and 

shall be consistent with applicable laws, regulations and SBA policy. 

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V. TERMINATION 

Either Party may discontinue its patticipation under this SAM at any time, with or without 

cause, upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other Patty. 

VI. REI.ATIQNSHI_f 

Tills SAM does not authorize the expenditure of any funds. Accordingly, this SAM shall not 

. be interpreted as creating any binding legal obligations between the Parties nor shall it limit 

either Party from participating in similar activities or arrangements with other entities. 

Nothing contained herein shall be construed to create any association, partnership, joint 

venture or relation of principal or agent or employer and employee with respect to BDC and 

SBA. 

VII. RESPONSIBLE OFFICIALS 

The responsible officials and points of contact for administrative matters pertaining to this 

SAM are: 

Benedict College BDC: 

Gerald H. Smalls 

Dean of the School of Business 

1600 Harden Street 

Columbia, SC 29204 

803-517-6223 

ll1Ill!l!;;@benedict.edq 

VIII. SIGNATURES 

U.S. Small Business Administration: 

Elliott 0. Cooper 

SBA District Director, South Carolina 

1835 Assembly Street, Room 1425 

Columbia, SC 29201 

803-765-5339 

elliott,cooper@sba_,gQY 

T11e signatodes below represent that they have the authority to make such commitments on 

behalf of their respective organization: 

· a Wales, Deputy Assistant .Administrator 

Office of Public Communications and Public Liaison 

Elliott 

~(f)~ 0. Cooper, strtct Dttector, South Carolina 

c- <-C--·--:J_= ... Cassius F. Butts, RegionaiA'<irlu.nistrator, Region IV Date 

BWgS~ Development Center: 

Dr. David H. Swinton, CEO and President of Benedict College Date 

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Strategic Alliance Memorandum 

United States Small Business Administration (SBA) 

And 

Benedict College Business Development Center 

The ahove mentioned parties hereby acknowledge receipt of the Strategic Alliance Memorandum 

on 

April9,2019. 

Mr. Ashley Bell, SBA Regional Administrator, Region 4 

R. Gregg White, SBA South Carolina District Director 

Dr. Roslyn Artis, President, Benedict College 
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Strategic Alliance Memorandum 

US. Small Business 

Administration 

I. PURPOSE 

with the 

United States Small Business Administration 

and the 

Benedict College Business Development Center 

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Benedict College Business 

Development Center are joined by a common mission; helping start, maintain, and expand 

small businesses. The Parties will work together in the spirit of cooperation and open 

communications, consistent with law, with the primary goal of meeting the needs of the small 

business community. 

The Benedict College Business Development Center (BDC) was established in 2002 and created 

with a mission to expand the college's role and effectiveness in addressing the economic and 

business development needs of small and minority businesses. The center's goal is to create 

jobs, increase business development and provide entrepreneurial opportunities for low-tomoderate income persons. 

The mission of the SBA is to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of smalt business by 

providing financial, contractual and business development assistance and advocating on 

their behalf within the government. SBA district offices deliver SBA programs and services to 

the public. Each Party has separate services and resources which, when delivered in 

coordination with each other, will provide maximum benefits to the small business 

communities served. 

The purpose of this Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) is to develop and foster mutual 

understanding and a working relationship between the SBA and Benedict College 

Development Center in order to strengthen and expand small business development in the 

local area. 

The Parties acknowledge that beyond the information sharing contemplated under this SAM, 

any specific joint training and outreach activities will require a separate signed agreement 

developed pursuant to SBA's Cosponsorship Authority. 

In order to further their common goals, the Parties agree to the following: 

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II. SCOPE AND RESPONSIBtllnES 

SBA Undertakings: 

Within the limits of its available and/or appropriated resources, the SBA through its South 

Carolina District Office wilt: 

Provide the BDC with up-to-date information about SBA's programs and services. 

Make available, upon request, access and support regarding SBA's resource 

partners, including but not limited to, the Small Business Development Centers 

(SBDCs), SCORE, Women's Business Centers (WBCs) and the Veteran Business 

Outreach Centers (VBOCs) (collectively, "SBA's Resource Partners"). 

Make available, upon request and subject to their availability, SBA pamphlets, 

brochures, and other resource materials. 

Advise the BDC of events that may impact its mission. 

Provide speakers, counselors and other technical assistance resources consistent 

with SBA roles and policy, to participate in BDC workshops, conferences, seminars 

and other activities to discuss SBA financing, government contracting and other 

business topics. 

Invite the BDC's clients/members to attend local SBA-sponsored events and offer 

SBA-sponsored training at BDC's sponsored events when appropriate. 

Provide a text-only hyperlink from SBA's website to the SOC's website pursuant to 

SBA's !inking policies. 

Provide information and training to the BDC's staff on SBA programs and services 

available to local small businesses. 

Assign a local point of contact to serve as liaison between SBA and the BDC. 

BDC Undertakings: 

Within the limits of its available resources, the Benedict College Business Development Center 

(BDC)wilt: 

Cooperate with SBA's Resource Partners to provide information to its 

clients/members about business development services to small businesses when 

appropriate. 

Keep abreast of and disseminate up-to-date information provided by SBA when 

appropriate. 

Make available to its clients, members SBA pamphlets, brochures, and other 

publications. 

Inform the BDC's small business clients/members of SBA's programs and services 

including referrals to SBA's Resource Partners when appropriate. 

Upon request, provide speakers for SBA-sponsored events when appropriate. 

Provide a text-only hyper link from BDC's website to SBA's website. 

Assign a local point of contact to serve as liaison between the BDC and SBA. 

Ill. USE OF SBA NAME AND LOGO 

All materials bearing the SBA name or togo must be approved in advance by SBA's 

Responsible Program Official. Use of SBA's logo must be accompanied by the following 

214 
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statement: "Use of the SBA logo is authorized by a Strategic Alliance Memorandum. 

Reference to SBA is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any 

person or entity." The SBA logo may only be used to promote SBA and/or its programs, 

activities, and services. SBA'slogo cannot be used in a way that suggests the Agency is 

endorsing any individual, organization, product, or service or in a way which implies that an 

improper relationship exists between SBA and an outside party. SBA's logo also must not be 

used in any manner that is tiable to bring the Agency into a negative light, such as in 

connection with any products or services related to alcohol, gambling or adult entertainment 

industries. Further, SBA's logo must not be used in connection with any lobbying efforts, any 

political activities, or any religious symbols. 

The "U.S. Small Business Administration" name shaH be used only in a factual manner, 

consistent with applicable law, and shall not promote or endorse any products or services of 

any entity including but not limited to Benedict College Business Development Center. 

Nothing in this SAM permits Benedict College Business Development Center to use the SBA 

official seal. 

IV. TERM 

Cooperation under this SAM will commence upon signing by both Parties and will continue for 

a period of two years from date of signature unless otherwise terminated by one or both Parties 

as per paragraph VI below. 

V. AMENDMENT 

The Parties agree to consult each other on any amendment, modification or clarification to the 

provisions of this SAM. This SAM may only be amended or modified in writing and shalt be 

consistent with applicable laws, regulations and SBA policy. 

VI. TERMINATION 

Either Party may discontinue its participation under this SAM at any time, with or without 

cause, upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other Party. 

VII, RELATIONSHIP 

This SAM does not authorize the expenditure of any funds. Accordingly, this SAM shall not be 

interpreted as creating any binding legal obligations between the Parties nor shall it limit either 

Party from participating in similar activities or arrangements with other entities. Nothing 

contained herein shaH be construed to create any association, partnership, joint venture or 

relation of principal or agent or employer and employee with respect to Benedict College 

Business Development Center and SBA. 

VIII. RESPONSIBLE PROGRAM OFFJCIAL 

The SBA Responsible Program Official for this Strategic Alliance Memorandum is R. Gregg 

White 

IX. POINTS OF CONTACT 

The points of contact for administrative matters pertaining to this SAM are: 

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