In a press release issued on Monday, the current president of Morehouse College announced his plans to step down at the end of the 2012 academic year. Dr. Robert M. Franklin, 57, served as the head of the Atlanta-based, historically black men’s college for five years and plans to take a sabbatical as a Scholar in Residence at Stanford University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Institute upon his departure.

Franklin has been credited for increasing alumni giveback to 36 percent and generating $60 million in federal grants for Morehouse. He also authored “Crisis in the Village” and has extensively studied the role of the African-American church in the community. During his sabbatical he plans to “travel, write, speak and interview leaders about the condition of boys and men in the U.S. and around the globe,” he stated.

The Chicago native was given Morehouse’s highest honor as President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor and plans to return to Morehouse, his alma mater, after his time with Stanford. If a new president is not selected by July 1, Franklin agreed to hold his position until Dec 31.

In light of underwhelming alumni giveback numbers and decreased federal support, what level of committment should HBCU alum have to their alma maters?