Why USC and not a black college, Dr. Dre?

[theworldismine13]

Why USC and not a black college, Dr. Dre? - latimes.com

I was in Detroit preparing to give a speech last week when the news came across my Twitter feed: "Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine donate $70 million to USC to create new degree." As one of the first university presidents from the hip-hop generation, I had to stop and read the story immediately.

The two music moguls and co-founders of Beats Electronics — recognizing that they needed a new type of creative talent for their growing music technology business — are funding a four-year program that blends liberal arts, graphic and product design, business and technology.

I understood their need to build a pool of skilled talent. But why at USC? Iovine's daughter is an alum, sure. And he just gave its commencement address. Andre Young — before he was Dr. Dre — grew up in nearby Compton, where he rose to fame as part of the rap group N.W.A. The Beats headquarters are on L.A.'s Westside.

Still, what if Dre had given $35 million — his half of the USC gift and about 10% of his wealth, according to a Forbes estimate — to an institution that enrolls the very people who supported his career from the beginning? An institution where the majority of students are low-income? A place where $35 million would represent a truly transformational gift?

Why didn't Dr. Dre give it to a black college?

Make no mistake: This donation is historic. It appears to be the largest gift by a black man to any college or university, comparable to the gift Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, gave to Spelman College in 1988. Some 25 years later, their $20-million gift (about $39 million in inflation-adjusted dollars) is still the largest-ever private gift to a historically black college. Dre gave USC almost triple the amount Oprah Winfrey has given Morehouse College over the years. Sean "Diddy" Combs gave $500,000 to Howard University in 1999, which he attended before launching a successful career.

A hip-hop icon is now the new black higher-ed philanthropy king. We've never seen a donation to rival this from any black celebrity — musician, athlete or actor — and that fact must be celebrated.

But as the president of a black college, it pains me as well. I can't help but wish that Dre's wealth, generated as it was by his largely black hip-hop fans, was coming back to support that community.

USC is a great institution, no question. But it has a $3.5-billion endowment, the 21st largest in the nation and much more than every black college — combined. Less than 20% of USC's student body qualifies for federal Pell Grants, given to students from low-income families, compared with two-thirds of those enrolled at black colleges. USC has also seen a steady decrease in black student enrollment, which is now below 5%.

A new report on black male athletes and racial inequities shows that only 2.2% of USC undergrads are black men, compared with 56% of its football and basketball teams, one of the largest disparities in the nation. And given USC's $45,602 tuition next year, I'm confident Dre could have sponsored multiple full-ride scholarships to private black colleges for the cost of one at USC.

Maybe some suspect that a historically black college or university would not have the breadth or depth of expertise on its faculty to spearhead an innovative academy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This future Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation is to be multidisciplinary, with a technology focus. In 2011, the National Science Foundation noted that black colleges are a major source of scientists and engineers. In fact, the top five producers of blacks who go on to earn science, technology, engineering and math graduate degrees are black colleges, as are 20 of the top 50. Once you add in the musical legacy of black colleges' choirs and marching bands, they are the perfect locations for an academy like this.

In the end, though, this is his money, and endowing a program geographically nearby, where he can have ongoing input and contact, makes sense. I do hope it will recruit and enroll a diverse class of students and not become some enclave for the already privileged student body there.

But more important, I hope this groundbreaking gift inspires other celebrities and musical artists to make similar donations to higher education. And that they will consider doing it in a manner that will be truly transformative. This gift is gravy for USC; for a black college, it would transform not just individuals but whole institutions and communities.

In the Detroit airport on my way home, I counted seven people sporting the stylish Beats by Dre headphones on the way to my gate. All seven were black men, like me. My own Dre earbuds were in my briefcase. I'm sure we all bought them not only to support Dr. Dre but because of the quality of the product.

My challenge is to figure out how to get Dr. Dre and others to listen as well, because when they support black colleges, they are also supporting a quality product.

 

[Serious]

Interesting subs...

 

[newworldafro]

yeah...it would have been huge for black schools....but imagine instead if every multimillionaire pro - black athlete gave 3, 4 or 5 full 4 - year scholarships annually to black students or to HBCUs (even though many probably wouldn't have gone to these schools).....

That kind of investment ...... versus going broke.......

No seriously......imagine if instead of .................. ok............................................... in addition to buying two expensive cars and an expenisive home .... a rookie athlete decided he wanted to send 5 - 10 people from his neighborhood to college for full 4- year- scholarships ..... like if that was the normal modus operandi for rookie athletes .... imagine that...

Imagine a young baller that has the potential to make it to the NBA or NFL.......imagining the riches he could possibly make, but also thinking about how many folks he might be able to put through school ....... imagine dude telling his younger cousins if he makes it, they going get a free college education ......................................call me crazy, but if the American bballers and footballers of today were majority Indians and Koreans, every major baller would be have paid for at least 5 people's full college education, creating a wealth and professional structure that the baller can investment into the future beyond just shooting hoops ......... .............

Real talk if I was a college player and a potential professional bballer and footballer with a good chance of going pro - I would make sure I paid for 5 people (the more money I would make the more folks getting scholarships) to go to school, as their skillset may come in handy one day, and they would recognize how their education was paid for and that professional/personal comraderie would be potent for the recipient and the athlete himself ....

 

[Serious]

yeah...it would have been huge for black schools....but imagine instead if every multimillionaire pro - black athlete gave 3, 4 or 5 full 4 - year scholarships annually to black students or to HBCUs (even though many probably wouldn't have gone to these schools.....

That kind of investment ...... versus going broke.......

No seriously......imagine if instead of .................. ok............................................... in addition to buying two expensive cars and an expenisive home .... a rookie athlete decided he wanted to send 5 - 10 people from his neighborhood to college for full 4- year- scholarships ..... like if that was the normal modus operandi for rookie athletes .... imagine that...

Imagine a young baller that has the potential to make it to the NBA or NFL.......imagining the riches he could possibly make, but also thinking about how many folks he might be able to put through school ....... imagine dude telling his younger cousins if he makes it, they going get a free college ......................................call me crazy, but if they were bballers and footballers of today were majority Indians and Koreans, every major baller would be have paid for at least 5 people's full college education, create a wealth and professional structure beyond just shooting hoops......... .............

You might be on something, especially if they were to become tax exemption( a legal incentive )

 

[bewitched]

I hate it when others want to dictate how people spend their own money. We should be grateful that we had Bill Cosby and Oprah donate funds to HBCU institutions and hopefully we have more prominent black figures do the same. At the same token, we shouldn't set obligations on people to give to HBCU'S only because they're black. Dre being from Cali has a connection to USC, probably why he choose the school.We hope that black students entered into USC will benefit from the funding. This would be the same as condemning a black professor for teaching at an Ivy league or a majority white school.

 

[theworldismine13]

I hate it when others want to dictate how people spend their own money. We should be grateful that we had Bill Cosby and Oprah donate funds to HBCU institutions and hopefully we have more prominent black figures do the same. At the same token, we shouldn't set obligations on people to give to HBCU'S only because they're black. Dre being from Cali has a connection to USC, probably why he choose the school.We hope that black students entered into USC will benefit from the funding. This would be the same as condemning a black professor for teaching at an Ivy league or a majority white school.

not really, i think the author stayed clear from making any demands and took pains to not sound like hater by giving usc their props

what i think what he really wants is something like what newworldafro is suggesting, a bunch of black people not just athletes and rappers giving a few thousand adds up really quick, its the type of thing that has nothing to do with white people or hating on other schools, its just something that we have to organize ourselves

 

[NZA]

since dre is a californian, what he did makes sense, but of course the HBCUs need that kind of money more.

 

[No Sleep]

The NWA casting made me think of this thread.

 

[Chris.B]

black colleges are usually run by crooks.
The money would have gone to waste

 

[Nigerianwonder]

Why do people care about his money. Dre was playing politics.. that's partly why he is worth a billion now. A donation that large would open doors most will never see.. USC's whole network is wide open to him. Im sure he is not done donating money so let that man breathe. He may donate to an hbcu next year for all we know.

 

[tmonster]

In

 

[Hiphoplives4eva]

Newsflash! Dre is a c00n!

 

[IAmGettingAMailOrderBride]

Better than not donating period

 

[Black Hans]

But as the president of a black college, it pains me as well. I can't help but wish that Dre's wealth, generated as it was by his largely black hip-hop fans, was coming back to support that community.

yeah...it would have been huge for black schools....but imagine instead if every multimillionaire pro - black athlete gave 3, 4 or 5 full 4 - year scholarships annually to black students or to HBCUs (even though many probably wouldn't have gone to these schools).....

That kind of investment ...... versus going broke.......

No seriously......imagine if instead of .................. ok............................................... in addition to buying two expensive cars and an expenisive home .... a rookie athlete decided he wanted to send 5 - 10 people from his neighborhood to college for full 4- year- scholarships ..... like if that was the normal modus operandi for rookie athletes .... imagine that...

Imagine a young baller that has the potential to make it to the NBA or NFL.......imagining the riches he could possibly make, but also thinking about how many folks he might be able to put through school ....... imagine dude telling his younger cousins if he makes it, they going get a free college education ......................................call me crazy, but if the American bballers and footballers of today were majority Indians and Koreans, every major baller would be have paid for at least 5 people's full college education, creating a wealth and professional structure that the baller can investment into the future beyond just shooting hoops ......... .............

Real talk if I was a college player and a potential professional bballer and footballer with a good chance of going pro - I would make sure I paid for 5 people (the more money I would make the more folks getting scholarships) to go to school, as their skillset may come in handy one day, and they would recognize how their education was paid for and that professional/personal comraderie would be potent for the recipient and the athlete himself ....

squared.

 

[superunknown23]

Black colleges are turning white now