We pledge our earnest support to organizations such as The White House Initiative on HBCUs, the HBCU Bipartisan Congressional Caucus, The Thurgood Marshall College Fund, UNCF, CBC, NAFEO, The Charles Koch Foundation, The Center for Advancing Opportunity, The Lilly Foundation, other organizations and major stake holders in the following areas:

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1. Improving the identity, visibility, and distinctive capabilities and overall competitiveness of HBCUs;

2. Engaging the philanthropic, business, government, military, home-land security and education communities in a national dialogue regarding new HBCU programs and initiatives;

3. Improving the ability of HBCUs to remain fiscally secure institutions that can assist the Nation in reaching its goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates by 2025;

4. Establishing an inital multi-billion dollar fund for infrastructure and capacity-building to help establish parity in STEM research and development at HBCUs, including investment in annual funding for STEM initiatives for best practice models to further drive participation of African-Americans in the STEM workforce;

5. Permanently restoring year-round Pell Grants and raising the maximum Pell Grant to $5,935 in FY2017

6. Investing in annual funding for teacher preparation initiatives to accelerate preparing effective minority teachers;

7. Establishing a system of research centers on HBCU campuses throughout the country, in order to capitalize upon HBCUs ability to graduate a disproportionately higher number of African-Americans with STEM degrees, with a focus on cyber-security, advanced materials, interactive manufacturing, health-disparities, robotics and artificial intelligence.