Several new colleges were added into the list this year, mainly HBCUs, liberal-arts colleges, and state universities, reflecting the increasingly diverse background of younger leaders. Morehouse College (no. 111), an HBCU which first appeared on the list last year, boasts alumni like Sen. Raphael Warnock, who not only was the first college graduate in his family but also became the first black senator in the state of Georgia in 2021.

“This workforce is basically showing a mirror. We’ve seen more students that come from HBCUs, black men specifically, coming out of Morehouse into the working field. Our career development department actually has given us data to support that the average student that’s graduating Morehouse is making right at about $75,000 to $80,000 a year,” says Michael Gumm, director of Admissions & recruitment at Morehouse. “Morehouse being a liberal arts college is gearing a lot of students to think more broadly. And with the force of AI, we’re starting to see an infusion between the humanities and AI, where people are needing people who are more critical thinkers that then they’re applying their skill sets, no matter what major they’re in, into these different career paths.”