WHITLOWE R. GREEN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Doctoral Proposal Defense Announcement
Exploratory Examination of Fundraising at Historical Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCUs) Using The All Campus Approach to Fundraising
Doctoral Proposal Defense Announcement
(July 2015)
Juan Zane Crawford, B.S.O.E., Wayland Baptist University;
Masters of Business Administration, Our Lady of the Lake University;
Chair of Advisory Committee: Patricia Hoffman-Miller, Ph.D.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) face enormous challenges with
fundraising in today’s turbulent economic environment. HBCU leaders (i.e. presidents, deans,
and chief advancement officers) must continue to look for innovative strategies to secure needed
dollars as there is a decline in available government funds. This exploratory study is designed to
examine and question if there are any key differences within fundraising activities as a driving
force between both public and private historically black colleges and universities. A Guide to
Fundraising at Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): An All Campus Approach
(Gasman & Bowman, 2012) provides the framework for this study. The analysis, developed by
Gasman and Bowman discusses the successful and unsuccessful strategies and techniques of
fundraising offices at HBCUs across the United States. This research will compare the
application of principles in both public and private HBCUs with hopes of increasing fundraising
opportunities for both these types of these institutions. The research question that will guide this
study will encompass a discussion on whether or not there are differences in the role of the
President, Chief Advancement Offices, and Academic Deans at public and private HBCUs.
The following research questions will be addressed:
1. What are the differences between public and private HBCUs Presidents’
fundraising roles/practices?
2. What are the differences between public and private HBCUs Chief Advancement
Officers’ fundraising roles/practices?
3. What are the differences between public and private HBCUs Academic Deans’
fundraising roles/practices?
This research will utilize a quantitative methodology to explore whether significant
differences exist between private and public HBCUs’ fundraising practices according to roles of
the Presidents, the Chief Advancement Officers, and the Academic Deans. For the purpose of
this study, both the target population and the sample are the same. The participants will be all
the Chief Advancement Officers (CAO) at both the public and private HBCUs throughout the
United States. Since the CAOs are the ones in charge of fund raising efforts as well as to
manage the funds for each institution, each of them will be asked to complete a survey. In
addition, they will be asked to answer a survey based on their opinion of the president and the
academic deans fundraising roles and practices at their institutions.
The researcher will conduct a pilot test in order to establish the reliability and validity of
the instrument used to collect data about fundraising practices at public and private HBCUs.
According to Creswell (2012), an instrument is valid only when it measures what it intends to
measure, while reliability is the consistency of the instrument to measure what it appears to
measure (Creswell, 2012; Gay, Mills, & Airasian, 2009). The researcher will utilize a survey
method to collect the data and a causal comparative research design to compare fundraising
practices at public HBCUs with the private HBCUs in the United States. This research will use
both descriptive and inferential statistics in order to analyze the data collected for this study.
Descriptive statistics will describe the features of the population. This will be done in the form of
measures of spread and central tendencies. Inferential statistics, on the other hand, will be used to
answer the research questions. The rationale for choosing the research method is that a causalcomparative technique will allow the researcher to compare the endowment of the public
HBCUs with that of the private HBCUs. The research will use descriptive techniques to collect
data and use inferential statistic to test the hypothesis in order to answer the research questions.
Gasman & Bowman (2012), A Guide to Fundraising at Historically Black Colleges and
Universities: An All Campus Approach provides the conceptual framework that will guide the
study.
References
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative
and qualitative research. Boston: Pearson
Gasman, M., & Bowman, N. (2012). A guide to fundraising at historically Black colleges and
universities: An all campus approach. New York: Routledge.
Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. W. (2009). Educational research: Competencies for
analysis and application. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Merrill.
Date: August 20, 2015
Department: Educational Leadership and Counseling
Time: 10:30 AM
Location/Room: 220 DELCO___________________
Dissertation Chair:
Patricia Hoffman-Miller, Ph.D
Dissertation Committee Members:
Douglas Hermond, Ph.D.
Lisa K. Thompson, Ph.D.
Carl Gardiner, Ph.D.
William H. Parker, Ph.D.