Laurette Blakey Foster

Leading with Grace and Grit: The HBCU Faculty Development Network's Legacy of Cultivating Excellence, Resilience, and Innovation brings together scholars, administrators, and faculty innovators to explore the leadership, institutional practices, and culturally grounded approaches that continue to shape the vitality and success of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Centered on the complementary qualities of grace and grit, the book examines how HBCUs cultivate excellence while navigating the complex challenges and opportunities facing higher education today. Through perspectives on STEM equity, experiential learning, student development, and institutional innovation, the contributors move from theory to practice, demonstrating how HBCUs create meaningful opportunities for students historically underrepresented in critical fields. The volume explores initiatives ranging from research-based strategies for expanding participation in technology and STEM to hands-on learning experiences that reveal both the transformative potential and practical challenges of innovation. At the heart of the book is an examination of the intellectual, psychological, and emotional lives of HBCU students. Drawing on African-centered psychology and Ubuntu philosophy, the contributors challenge conventional Western models of individual achievement and self-actualization, offering instead a vision of resilience and flourishing rooted in community, cultural identity, and historical consciousness. This commitment to culturally responsive support extends to examinations of faculty coaching, mentorship, and advising, emphasizing the essential role educators play in helping students navigate academic expectations while responding to their diverse needs and experiences. Together, these perspectives illuminate how HBCUs continue to foster resilience, innovation, and excellence—not simply through institutional structures, but through communities of support and shared purpose that transform adversity into opportunity and prepare students, faculty, and institutions to flourish. Historically Black colleges and universities have long served as essential institutions of education, opportunity, and social progress. Yet their significance extends well beyond their historical legacy. This book explores the continuing relevance and distinctive contributions of HBCUs in expanding educational opportunity, promoting economic mobility, and preparing students for meaningful and successful careers. At a time when questions about access, affordability, student success, and equity dominate conversations about higher education, HBCUs offer important lessons about the power of institutions designed to support students who have too often been underserved elsewhere. By examining their success in retaining and graduating first-generation, low-income African American students, this book demonstrates how HBCUs continue to foster academic achievement, economic opportunity, and community advancement. More than historic institutions, HBCUs remain vital engines of social and economic mobility, preparing graduates not only to build financially secure futures but also to contribute their talents, leadership, and expertise to communities and society. Leading with Grace and Grit is essential reading for academics, public policy administrators, and others involved in higher education. It is a useful volume in a variety of courses.