Wednesday was all about collaboration for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Mississippi.

Five of the six HBCUs from throughout the state attended a meeting at the Alcorn State University-Vicksburg campus Wednesday aimed at showing the strengths of each of the schools and fostering continued partnerships between them.

The meeting was hosted through a partnership between Alcorn-Vicksburg, the Southwest Mississippi Center for Culture and Learning, the Regional Educational Lab Southeast (REL) at Florida State University and the National Institutes for Historically-Underserved Students.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Alcorn, Mississippi Valley, Jackson State, Tougaloo and Hinds Community College’s Utica Campus. The only school not in attendance was Rust College.

“At Wednesday’s meeting each college participated in a carousel and featured one outstanding program at each school,” Chris Gilmer, executive director of Alcorn-Vicksburg and SWCCL, said. “For instance, Alcorn featured its dual enrollment program with Vicksburg Warren School District and Tougaloo featured its internationally renowned art collection. Then we had an open discussion of possible collaborations between one or more of the schools, all with a focus on student success.”

Gilmer and La’Tara Osborne-Lampkin, a researcher from REL at FSU, facilitated the meeting. Gilmer said about 20 people were in attendance to talk about the current successes being seen at the HBCUs and how to help them continue to prosper in the future.

“My biggest takeaway is how relevant and important HBCUs remain even after so many years of service,” Gilmer said. “While college enrollment nationwide is generally declining, enrollment at HBCUs is on the increase, indicating our commitment to excellence in teaching and service are still a big draw to students.”

Gilmer called the meeting “historic” because it brought nearly all of the HBCUs together in one place to work together.

“Cooperation among HBCUs is essential,” Gilmer said. “History cannot be denied, and our institutions have always been underfunded. We have a proven history of producing world-class graduates despite this funding inequity, but we cannot afford to let opportunities for collaboration pass us by.”