My first encounter with Bill Cox and Frank Matthews was quite memorable. It took place in 1984 at a higher education conference at MIT, shortly after they had decided to confront the shortcomings in both the journalistic and academic communities by launching a new publication, Black Issues In Higher Education. In the best spirit of American entrepreneurship, they saw a need and they filled it. They pointed a spotlight on the underrepresentation of Black people in higher education institutions across the country. Since the establishment press chose to ignore this reality, Cox and Matthews stepped forward to address the situation, undeterred by the structural and cultural hurdles that stood in their way.
Dr. William B. Harvey
The social and political landscape has been shifting and uneven over the 40 years that the Cox-Matthews team has taken on its mission, and considerably less progress has been realized within the academic community than what was hoped for. I have characterized these four decades as follows: