Global Journal of Management and Business Research, B: Economics and Commerce, Volume 22 Issue 4

2 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue IV Version I Year 2022 ( ) B © 2022 Global Journals Racial and Community Wealth Disparity the Bane of HBCUs: A Wealth Ecology Model Relational Perspective performance (Simms et al., 1993; Harper, 2019). All these pointing to vulnerable universities and colleges that are especially hampered when located in vulnerable communities (Goddard et al., 2014). To change their vulnerable status, HBCUs have options to improve their enrollment rates (from their ‘anchored’ regions as well as widening their catchment areas), retention rates and fees charged (Goddard et al., 2014) for a better bottom line. By leveraging their resources as anchor institutions for their community’s development (Clarke, 2017) through Community Wealth Creation (CWC) initiatives, such as the Wealth Ecology™ Model (WEM) (Source Energy Global, 2022), they may enhance their close connection with their communities in a mutually beneficial relationship. In so doing, improve their competitiveness (Garton, 2021) in recruiting and retaining students and faculty. Goddard et al. (2014) find “no specific incentives” (p.321) in their review showing any specific bottom line benefits to anchor institutions’ community development or wealth creation initiatives in their local economies. This may be due to the non-profit status of most of the institutions under the study and their heavy dependence on government and external funding. The Wealth Ecology™ Model is an anchor- based CWC model based on the Revolution Wealth (RW™) (Source Energy Global, 2022) principles that brings Regimes of Support (RoS) and communities (Lumpkin & Bacq, 2019) together to generate economic enterprises. Anchor institutions (such as Universities, research institutions, local and community banks and financial services, hospitals, etc.) as part of RoS network enable money flows through the community to be anchored within the community to enhance a wider sharing of created wealth. The HBCU-CDFI anchored by Hope credit union is a typical collaboration example (Hope Enterprises, 2022). Other RoS may include, for- profit and non-profit organizations, fund managers, government agencies, philanthropic organizations, wealthy individuals and families, etc.) that have the financial resources and initiative to collaborate with the community for democratized wealth (Dubb, 2016). The community brings its natural and/or human resources to the enterprise. Acting as anchor institutions within WEM, HBCUs may expect to increase their enrollments, for example, from the key communities they serve the most. Underlying this expectation is the observation and assumption that HBCUs challenges reflect the fortunes of the core communities they serve – African Americans and minorities. The purpose of this study is to understand the nature of this relationship using relation regression techniques. It is found that HBCUs challenges go beyond the wealth status of their students and communities. This understanding can inform the debate on the mutuality of the benefits of the anchor mission to HBCUs and help strengthen or weaken the need to accept the anchor mission broadly across HBCUs in participation in the WEM initiative or any CWC. It could inform HBCUs strategies on student and faculty recruitment. It adds to the literature on community wealth creation initiatives, anchor institutions and refines the mutual benefits of the anchor mission. Understanding this observed link can help substantiate and fashion out appropriate approaches as part of WEM or any CWC program targeting HBCUs as anchor institutions and inform HBCU policy on contemplating the anchor mission. The rest of this paper follows with a review of current literature including some definitions of operational variables and hypothesis development. This is followed by sections on data and methodology, and results and discussion. The last section concludes with policy implications. II. L iterature R eview a) Definitions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) –are defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965 as institutions of higher learning established before 1964 whose principal mission is the (higher) education of African Americans (Wilson, 2007). School choice –School choice, as an operational variable, is school choice achievement represented by annual fall enrollment as recorded by the NCES. Most admissions occur in the fall semester, and this acts as a good estimate and indicator of enrollment strength. Student Wealth status – is an operational variable using the median household net worth for a typical HBCU student household. Wealth accumulation type is an operational variable representing the specific type(s) of household wealth components such as business equity, financial assets, savings bonds, investment funds, certificate of deposit, home ownership and equity, stock holdings, debt obligations, etc. (Wolff, 2017). The elements aggregate to the median household net worth estimation. b) Wealth and Minority Communities Economists define wealth in terms of marketable assets, such as real estate, stocks, bonds, etc. More recent studies have identified knowledge and IP as the new currency explaining some of the wealth gaps. As an economy, ownership structures drive how its resources are allocated (Domhoff, 2020). Therefore, the lack of ownership of the sources of wealth (Klein, 2017; Kotlowski, 1998) within a community by its members could entail declining community wealth stock and its competitiveness in supporting its student population to persist and achieve in their college educational drive.