Facilities and Administrative Cost Rates at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Strategies for Building Research Competitiveness

In a funding landscape marked by dwindling traditional revenue streams, research programs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) face heightened financial strain. The article by Hauschildt and colleagues brings to light the differences in the facilities and administrative (F&A) cost rates between HBCUs and non-HBCU institutions, spotlighting persisting, long-standing differences in sponsored research funding. F&A costs (previously referred to as indirect costs)-research dollars that are not readily assignable to a specific project or activity but are incurred by the institution for the joint benefit of research and development projects and activities-help to absorb the costs associated with the upkeep of facilities, infrastructure, and administrative support required to sustain research operations. Yet, HBCUs often receive lower F&A rates than their non-HBCU counterparts. Given the unique role HBCUs play in training African American physicians, dentists, scientists, engineers, etc., appropriately optimized F&A cost rates are critical to strengthen the resource-limited sponsored research enterprises at HBCUs. This commentary examines the underlying gaps in funding between HBCUs and non-HBCU institutions and explores differences in F&A cost calculation methods, often using Meharry Medical College-one of the nation's oldest historically Black medical schools-as a case example. The authors offer strategies across policy, government, corporate, and institutional levels to establish fairer F&A cost structures and facilitate research capacity-building at HBCUs, enabling them to fully realize their untapped potential and contribute to research excellence, innovation, and national competitiveness.