; Whereas, since the 1950s, the University has established a record of winning more Fulbright Awards than any of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (referred to in this preamble as HBCUs ) in the United States; Whereas, in 2016, the entire campus of the University was designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, making the University the only institution in the United States to have earned that distinction; Whereas, after 150 years as an institution, the University has grown— (1) from a student body of a modest 7 students to nearly 8,000 students; (2) from a faculty of 1 to nearly 400 full-time faculty members; and (3) from a single-track curriculum in ministry to an institution now offering 48 degree programs at the bachelor’s level, 10 at the post-baccalaureate certificate level, 34 at the master’s degree level, and 16 at the doctoral level; Whereas the University has awarded diplomas, certificates and degrees to more than 51,000 students; Whereas the University currently ranks in the top tier of institutions locally and nationally in graduating African Americans at all degree levels, and in fields such as architecture, marketing, nursing, the health professions, communication and journalism, family and consumer sciences, civil engineering, electrical engineering, finance, and industrial engineering; Whereas, during the 2017 calendar year, the University is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the University; and Whereas, on September 28–30, 2017, the University hosted on the campus of the University the 8 other HBCUs that also are celebrating their 150th anniversaries, in a United HBCU-9 Sesquicentennial Celebration: Now, therefore, be it