Mapping HBCU Endowments: A Visualization by Cierra Larke

By Kenton Rambsy 

Cierra Larke’s HBCU Endowments dashboard presents a powerful spatial view of institutional inequality. By mapping the locations and endowment sizes of 146 HBCUs, including schools that have closed, the visualization shows where wealth is concentrated and where financial vulnerability continues. Larger circles signal bigger endowments, making it easy to scan the map and identify sharp gaps in funding.

The dashboard allows viewers to filter by operational status, enrollment size, and whether a school is public or private. These tools reveal how closures, chronic underfunding, and regional neglect shape the financial lives of HBCUs. By placing each school on the map, Cierra makes it easier to understand how geography and funding work together to structure institutional opportunity.

Howard University remains the only HBCU with an endowment over one billion dollars. Most others have far less. Cierra’s dashboard brings this reality into sharp focus by showing how many institutions serve thousands of students with only modest financial support.

This visualization showcases what data storytelling can do. By combining research, design, and social analysis, Cierra creates a tool that informs and challenges. Her work pushes viewers to reflect on how funding inequality shapes the past, present, and future of HBCUs.

Related:

• Data Storytelling, Endowment Inequality, and the IF Retreat at Howard

• How HBCUs Do More with Less: A Visualization by Emily Duru