DEARBORN – Ford Motor Company and Ford Motor Credit Company today announced they are taking on the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Partnership Challenge of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus. The Challenge is designed to promote more corporate engagement with HBCUs, develop new career possibilities for students and improve diversity and inclusion across industries.
“We are thrilled to join the HBCU Partnership Challenge,” Ford Credit CEO Marion Harris said. “As part of our commitment to treating customers like family, our company makeup needs to look more like the public we serve. We also know that greater diversity of thought, experience and backgrounds leads to better decision-making and more innovation in our business. We have long worked with HBCUs in recruiting, and we’re looking forward to expanding and strengthening those bonds.”
Ford and Ford Credit join career fairs and recruit at a number of HBCUs. These include Clark Atlanta, Florida A&M University, Howard University, Morehouse College, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Spelman College and Tuskegee University. The companies are working to build relationships with and expand recruiting at multiple other HBCUs.
In addition, the Ford Motor Company Fund has a long history of supporting HBCUs and their students. Programs include the innovative Ford FirstGen program that combines scholarship with mentoring and other resources to empower the success of first-generation HBCU students; scholarships through organizations such as UNCF and the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund; and initiatives that support the infrastructure and mobility needs of HBCUs though the HBCU Mobility Challenge.
“Ford Motor Company and Ford Fund are both proud of and grateful for our longstanding relationship partnering with and recruiting from HBCUs,” Ford Chief Diversity Officer Lori Costew said. “The HBCU Partnership Challenge will serve to amplify our efforts.”
Companies that sign on to the HBCU Partnership Challenge commit to developing and following best practices to build and deepen strategic relationships with HBCUs. The HBCU Caucus has worked with corporations to create best practices for recruiting and retaining diverse talent.
“I welcome Ford and Ford Credit to the Congressional HBCU Partnership Challenge,” said U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., co-chair of the HBCU Caucus and co-founder of the challenge. “It is vital that government and industry work together to ensure that HBCUs and their graduates have equal access to 21st-century opportunities. Ford and Ford Credit taking the HBCU Partnership Challenge pledge speaks to their long-term commitment to HBCUs and their students, both as a vital source of workforce talent and as an integral part of communities across our nation.”
Ford is committed to racial and social justice and is working diligently to support a culture of belonging for all team members and partners. Over the past several years, Ford has placed a significant focus on restructuring its recruitment of Black and other individuals from underrepresented groups, including increasing the number of professional organizations and historically Black colleges and universities with which the company works. These actions are part of Ford’s ongoing commitment to drive lasting change for racial and ethnic equality within the company and in the communities where we live and work.
For more information on the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus and HBCU Partnership Challenge, visit adams.house.gov.
