Revitalization of an Historically Black College: A Maryland Eastern Shore Case by Carl S. Person

Abstract

This study comprises a multi-faceted case study of the growth and development of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), with an emphasis on the leadership of Chancellor William T. Hytche during his tenure from 1975 to 1995. The study takes into account the complex, dynamic, and interrelated internal and external forces that led to the survival and subsequent development of UMES. An attempt was made to describe the relationship of Chancellor Hytche's leadership behavior and the resolution of critical problems affecting the growth and development of UMES during his period as chancellor. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is an historically black university that has been able to overcome its historical and environmental roadblocks and situate itself squarely in the mainstream of higher education, even though, like other small historically black colleges, UMES faced an uncertain future. Historically black colleges and ii universities (HBCUs) are among America's most valuable resources, but for more than 130 years, these institutions of higher learning had to overcome the obstacles of limited financial and structural resources to provide quality education to hundreds of thousands of Americans of all races and socioeconomic strata. The literature on historically black colleges is limited and significantly devoid of research in the area of black college leadership. The majority of the research on black colleges focuses on issues such as student recruitment, the lack of black males, black college culture, and the effect of court decisions on desegregation and affirmative action. This research utilized the case study method. It can be characterized as primarily a descriptive case study, in that it describes the key events affecting the evolution of UMES, key e..