Cardona spoke on these illustrious institutions earlier this week, and he initially commented on all the great work that HBCUs do for the Black community.

“HBCUs punch above their weight; they are producing higher percentages of Black excellence than any other University System. We need to lift them up for what they are doing, and we need to support them. Not just by words but by actions,” Cardona noted, according to NewsOne.

He went on to share what the Biden Administration has done to help support these universities.

“We’ve provided $6 billion in funds in one year. That’s more than any other administration total. But we are also giving them opportunities to be engaged in programming with different departments and make sure they are eligible for contracts also,” he said.

“We want to support their infrastructure. We want to lift up the sense of community and family that they are,” Cardona continued.

.@POTUS‘ 2023 budget requests nearly $500B in direct funding to HBCUs including specific funding to build teacher prep programs because we know HBCUs prepare more educators of color than anyone else. pic.twitter.com/PETo6rwGP2

— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona) September 21, 2022

Cardona also addressed the U.S.’s long-running tradition of underfunding HBCUs, noting that officials are working to remedy this issue.

“It’s about making sure that, number one, states are paying their fair share. [HBCUs have] been underfunded for decades. It’s not going to be fixed overnight, but we have to get the ball moving in the right direction,” he proclaimed.

“Number two: Recognizing that in order for their research status to go up so that they can get some of these contracts their infrastructure needs to improve,” Cardona continued. “So, the president has put forward in his budget almost half a billion dollars to make sure there are supports there. We need Congress to support that as well.”

He wrapped up his commentary by noting, “We know that HBCUs have seen an increase in enrollment the last two years. We are proud of that. We want to support them more and we are going to continue to work with them.”

“It’s not just about the money it’s about making sure we are listening and providing them the technical assistance and support that they need to thrive,” he added.

Cardona’s comments notably come on the heels of the U.S. Navy actively attempting to strengthen its ties with HBCUs through the brand-new “Divine Nine” Ambassador Program, as Blavity previously reported.

As a result, it looks like various U.S. officials are recognizing that they need to begin establishing solid relationships with students at these noteworthy institutions.