General Info

As the nation s oldest and most successful minority higher education assistance organization, the United Negro College Fund s mission is to provide financial support to its 39 member institutions and increase minority degree attainment by reducing financial barriers to college. The fund s institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 25 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. It administers nearly 450 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship programs, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. The fund supports more than 65,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. The fund s Liberty Scholarships enable children of the victims of the September 11 the terrorist attacks- regardless of age, race, creed or color, to attend any member institution. Graduates of UNCF institutions have made lasting contributions to the nation by building successful careers in the fields of business, politics, health care and the arts. Some prominent UNCF alumni include: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.- Nobel Laureate and civil rights leader, Alexis Herman- former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Spike Lee- director, actor, Dr. Walter Massey, former director, National Science Foundation, and president, Morehouse College, Hazel O Leary- former U.S. Secretary of Energy and W.E.B. DuBois- writer, scholar educator.