Brittany L. Mosby is in the role of her dreams as the nation’s first director of HBCU Success for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).
In marrying her passion for historically Black colleges and universities, higher education, diversity and inclusion and state-level policy research, Mosby is setting a strategic agenda to move the state’s seven HBCUs forward and give them a seat at the table in higher education conversations.
“I’m excited about the things that we’ll be able to get done as a state in the name of HBCU success,” said Mosby, an HBCU graduate. “Being the first one in the role, and then also not really having any peers in any other states, a lot of [the work] has just been learning the landscape and laying a foundation for future work.”
With the Tennessee Promise and Reconnect Scholarship programs available for high school graduates and returning adults to complete their degrees tuition-free, and the state’s overall focus on innovation, collaboration and completion in higher education, it is a “good time to be in higher education” in Tennessee, Mosby noted.
Among the initiatives and efforts Mosby is developing, raising HBCU awareness and elevating the stories of HBCUs tops the list.
“Right now, it’s a prime opportunity for HBCUs to step up and to share the stories of the good work that they do with those students who would be thought of as ‘risky students,’” she said, referencing data from the nonprofit education advocacy organization Complete Tennessee. The data indicates that Tennessee HBCUs outperform their predictors compared to every other public institutions and some private institutions.
Telling these stories will be crucial as states look to higher education for economic and workforce development, Mosby added. “HBCUs are the missing puzzle piece there.”
