Among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), only 10 percent of institutions currently meets the criteria for designation as a "high research activity institution (R2)", as designated by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Despite this occurrence, other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) also have aspirational goals to expand their capacity to fund and conduct quality research, as well as develop critical infrastructure to achieve sustainability of their research efforts. Engagement of a diverse set of institutional types is needed to expand national research capacity in STEM and maintain the competitive advantage of the U.S. in STEM innovation and prepare faculty and students from underrepresented backgrounds for the future STEM workforce. A better understanding of the core values of high research capacity institutions may provide greater insight into the factors that contribute to their effectiveness in building institutional research capacity and maintaining sustainability of their efforts, while providing a road map for other MSIs to achieve success in research and development. Thematic analysis was utilized to evaluate the core values of 11 high research capacity HBCUs as noted in their respective institutional strategic plans. Analysis revealed 7 emergent themes that characterize these institutions. The two most frequent themes were Community and Excellence. Additional themes included Respect/Integrity, Innovation, Social Responsibility, Accountability, and Diversity & Inclusion. This collection of shared values may be one of the key factors leveraged by R2 HBCUs to promote research capacity building. This insight may provide a model for value- based decision making to support research capacity and sustainability at MSIs and broaden participation of faculty and students from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM-related research. [For the full proceedings, see ED671809.]