HBCU Administrators, students and advocates will pour into Washington, D.C. this weekend for the start of “Seizing the Capacity to Thrive,” for 2009 HBCU Week. The free four-day conference that will unveil and detail the Obama administration’s vision for how HBCUs can gain traction, accelerate and compete on a full scale and include an array of activities geared to advance the missions and rally the spirits of the nation’s 105 surviving historically black colleges and universities..

Since their post-Civil War founding, HBCUs have demonstrated clear successes, responsible for more than half of today’s black professionals, including half of the nation’s black public school teachers, according to the United Negro College Fund.

Bennett and Spelman colleges, for instance, graduate more than half of all black female scientists who have earned doctorates.

But struggle often overshadows such accomplishments among HBCUs.

Trend data shows that on average, HBCUs suffer from limp endowments, which could help modernize campuses and cushion the legion of first-generation college students in need of sustained financial aid. Such students often compose a bulk of campus populations, and their inability to stay fiscally afloat usually leads to another trouble spot -- low retention and graduation rates, areas of ongoing concern for many HBCUs.

The conference will focus on Increasing the financial outlook for these schools -- from federal funding updates to alumni giving strategies -- also will take center stage. Contract coordinators from some 32 federal agencies are set to participate, along with representatives from corporate sponsors and private foundations.

The week's speakers line-up is packed with a high-power display of administration movers-and-shakers. Those confirmed so far include U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, CIA Director Leon Panetta, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair and Commander of U.S. Africa Command General William E. Ward.

Also slated to participate is John Hope Bryant, entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of Operation HOPE. The nonprofit social investment banking group provides financial literacy and economic help to low-wealth individuals.

Information from Blackamericaweb.com contributed to this report.