On the Yard: A Look at the Biggest News From HBCUs in 2013

Black colleges have had turmoil and triumph this year.

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On the Yard: A Look at the Biggest News From HBCUs in 2013 - From the return of the prestigious FAMU band and a boycott by Grambling football players to the naming of a Rhodes Scholar finalist at Hampton, 2013 has been an eventful year for the nation’s historically Black colleges.— By Jonathan P. Hicks (@HicksJonathan)(Photo: Tom Young/GettyImages)

Florida A&M University - Want to see a good game and an even better band? FAMU’s celebration is the place to be. Hazing drama now behind them, The Marching 100 always puts it down.  (Photo: AP Photo/John Raoux)

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A Band Returns at Florida A&M - The acclaimed Marching 100 band returned to the campus of Florida A&M in September after the 2011 hazing death of band member Robert Champion resulted in the band’s suspension. The return of the marching band lifted spirits on the campus, students said. (Photo: AP Photo/John Raoux)

A College’s Art Collection Leaves Campus - After years of legal wrangling, a part of Fisk University’s renowned art collection, including pieces by the famous painter Georgia O'Keeffe, left the school and made its debut at a museum in Arkansas created by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton. Fisk received $30 million as part of the deal.(Photo: AP Photo/Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, Jason Ivester)

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A College’s Art Collection Leaves Campus - After years of legal wrangling, a part of Fisk University’s renowned art collection, including pieces by the famous painter Georgia O'Keeffe, left the school and made its debut at a museum in Arkansas created by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton. Fisk received $30 million as part of the deal.(Photo: AP Photo/Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, Jason Ivester)

A Dismissal and Reversal at Morgan State - David Wilson, the president of Morgan State University, was slated to leave after Morgan’s board voted not to renew his contract. But students and faculty mounted a strong protest and, in January, the popular president’s contract was renewed and extended by the board.(Photo: Courtesy of David Wilson)

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A Dismissal and Reversal at Morgan State - David Wilson, the president of Morgan State University, was slated to leave after Morgan’s board voted not to renew his contract. But students and faculty mounted a strong protest and, in January, the popular president’s contract was renewed and extended by the board.(Photo: Courtesy of David Wilson)

President Obama’s address to Morehouse College’s graduating class of 2013:  - “And whatever hardships you may experience because of your race, they pale in comparison to the hardships previous generations endured — and overcame.” (Photo: Jason Reed/Reuters)

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Obama Speaks at Morehouse’s Commencement - President Obama delivered an address to the Morehouse Class of 2013 that was moving and personal. In a speech that touched on race, fatherhood, manhood and leadership, Obama spoke in far more personal terms than is typical for the president.(Photo: REUTERS/Jason Reed)

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New Leadership Named at Medgar Evers College  - Dr. Rudy Crew has been appointed the new president of Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. Dr. Crew previously served as the chief education officer for the state of Oregon and served as a chancellor of New York City Public. (Photo: The Oregonian /Landov)

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Rudy Crew Returns to New York and Medgar Evers - Rudy Crew, the educator who ran New York City’s and then Miami’s public school systems but was forced out of both amid political clashes, was named president of Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn in June. It followed a volatile period and a faculty’s no-confidence vote for his predecessor.(Photo: The Oregonian /Landov)

Photo By Photo: The Oregonian /Landov

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A Football Team Revolt at Grambling - Members of Grambling State University’s football team, protesting conditions of the school, boycotted a game and complained about budget cuts that have hurt the entire university. The boycott resulted in the cancellation of a game against Jackson State and focused national attention to the school’s conditions.(Photo: AP Photo/The News-Star, Dacia Idom)

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A Top Spot for Spelman College - Spelman College, the historic women’s college in Atlanta, was voted by U.S. News and World Report as the top historically Black college in the country for 2013. Morehouse College was listed in the number-two spot followed by Howard, Fisk and Tuskegee Universities.(Photo: REUTERS/Tami Chappell /Landov)

HBCUs Come to the Big Apple - Four men’s basketball teams from historically Black universities and thousands of fans came out in support of the 7th Annual Big Apple Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in December. Virginia Union and Howard bested Virginia State and Delaware State.(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

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HBCUs Come to the Big Apple - Four men’s basketball teams from historically Black universities and thousands of fans came out in support of the 7th Annual Big Apple Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in December. Virginia Union and Howard bested Virginia State and Delaware State.(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Hampton University Reaches Settlement With Drowned Student’s Family - The family of David Esan, 17, the Hampton University student who drowned during a March 20, 2013, swimming pool party at the university has reached a confidential settlement with the school. Last year Esan’s family filed a wrongful death suit against the university claiming that it was negligent. The case was scheduled to go to a jury trial this week.  (Photo: Hampton University)

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Hampton Boasts a Rhodes Scholar Finalist - Trinidad native Josh Gopeesingh, a chemical engineering major at Hampton University, was named as a finalist for the prestigious position as a Rhodes Scholar. He was the only finalist from an HBCU.(Photo: Hampton University)

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New Scholarly Journals at Two Colleges - Fayetteville State University and Morgan State University both launched new publications featuring scholarly works. Fayetteville, in North Carolina, began its Journal of Research Initiatives and Morgan State, in Baltimore, debuted its Morgan Global Journalism Review in 2013.(Photos from left: Morgan State University, Fayetteville State University)

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New Scholarly Journals at Two Colleges - Fayetteville State University and Morgan State University both launched new publications featuring scholarly works. Fayetteville, in North Carolina, began its Journal of Research Initiatives and Morgan State, in Baltimore, debuted its Morgan Global Journalism Review in 2013.(Photos from left: Morgan State University, Fayetteville State University)

Hosts With the Most - Twenty institutions of higher education across the nation hosted the fellowship program. They included Ivy League schools like Yale and Dartmouth; top state universities such as University of California Berkley and University of Texas at Austin; and prestigious HBCUs, including Howard University and Clark Atlanta University. They also will participate in internships at some of the nation's leading companies and organizations. (Photo: The Washington Times /Landov)

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Troubles at Howard - Howard University’s president resigned, the school faces multiple lawsuits, enrollment has declined, 75 staff positions have been cut and the chief financial officer was fired. A trustee warned that the school is in “genuine trouble” and “will not be here in three years if we don’t make some crucial decisions now.”(Photo: The Washington Times /Landov)