HP’s Faculty Loan Program at HBCUs

In 1975, Hewlett-Packard launched a faculty loan program in which HP engineers taught at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with the company’s assistance. Harry Portwood spent at least two years at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, through the program while HP kept Portwood at his company salary and donated equipment to the school. Support for minority education programs would be a key underpinning of HP’s efforts to support equality.