Wilberforce University Forgives $375K In Student Debt For Grads

WILBERFORCE, OH — The most exciting moment Saturday for 166 new graduates of Wilberforce University may not have been the receipt of their sheepskins but, rather, an announcement by the college president that their student debt had been erased.

The gift worth $375,000 was announced at the end of commencement exercises by Elfred Anthony Pinkard, the president of the nation’s oldest private, historically Black university and named in honor of the 18th century abolitionist William Wilberforce. It applies to 2020 and 2021 graduates.

“As these graduates begin their lives as responsible adults, we are honored to be able to give them a fresh start by relieving their student debt to the university,” Pinkard said, according to a news release from the school.

Class of 2021 member Rodman Allen said he “couldn’t believe it” when Pinkard made the announcement.

“It’s a blessing,” he said, according to the news release. “I know God will be with me. I’m not worried. I can use that money and invest in my future.”

According to the advocacy group ProgressNow, college graduates who begin their professional careers with outstanding student debt are 36 percent less likely to buy a home or less likely to take out a car loan, the university said.

The $375,000 came from the United Negro College Fund, Jack and Jill Inc. and other institutional funding, the university said.

During the initial coronavirus outbreak in spring 2020, the Wilberforce students received financial relief from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, set up through the federal stimulus program known as the CARES Act. Wilberforce University said that without that funding, some students would have been financially unable to register for their next semester of classes.

U.S. News & World Report said last fall the average student debt among recent college graduates who borrowed to pay for their educations was more than $30,000 — a 26 percent increase over the total of about $23,700 just a decade earlier.

Graduates of historically Black colleges and universities typically graduate with more debt than their white peers, and Black women pay more, according to the release. The university cited a study by the American Association of University Women that found Black women graduate with an average of $37,558 in debt and have more difficulty repaying it because of gender pay inequity.

Wilberforce isn’t the only university to cancel student loan debt for graduates this year.

Delaware State University, a public historically Black university, canceled up to $730,655 in student loan debt for more than 220 students who faced financial hardships during the pandemic.

“Our students don’t just come here for a quality college experience,” DSU President Tony Allen said in a news release. “Most are trying to change the economic trajectory of their lives for themselves, their families, and their communities. Our responsibility is to do everything we can to put them on the path.”