USM Conference to Address Closing the Achievement Gap, November 14
ADELPHI, Md. (November 12, 2007) - National statistics show that first generation,
minority, and low-income students are finding it harder to afford and to
complete a college degree, limiting their chances for success in the expanding
global knowledge economy. To help address this challenge, the University System
of Maryland (USM) will host the symposium, "The Compelling Reasons for Closing
the Achievement Gap: State and Institutional Considerations," on Wednesday,
November 14, 2007, at the
University of Baltimore Student Center. The event will bring together invited
K-16 education and policy leaders to share perspectives and to discuss
strategies that can help reverse this trend and give all Marylanders the opportunity, skills,
and knowledge to succeed.
The symposium will begin at 9:15 a.m. with a keynote address by U.S. Under Secretary of Education Sara Martinez Tucker. At
10:30 a.m., USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan will moderate a panel discussion
featuring State Senator and President Pro Tem of the Maryland Senate Nathanial J. McFadden, District 45,
Baltimore City; Orlan Johnson, USM Regent and Partner at Saul Ewing LLP;
Charles Pridgen, Salisbury University student; Mickey L. Burnim, president of
Bowie State University; Andres A. Alonso, Baltimore City Schools chief executive
officer; and Charlene Nunley, former president of Montgomery College. James E.
Lyons, Maryland Secretary of Higher Education, will address the symposium's
participants at 1 p.m. followed by afternoon breakout sessions and a panel
moderated by Clifford Adelman, senior associate with the Institute for Higher
Education Policy.
The symposium will
systematically examine the status of the achievement gap for students across
the system's institutions. Information and perspectives derived from the
symposium will be used to develop action plans and guide policy as USM works to
close the gap.
"I can think of no challenge
more pressing for our universities than closing the achievement gap," said
Chancellor Kirwan. "Within two years, Maryland's high school graduates will be majority-minority.
The state also needs to produce more students prepared for jobs in STEM fields--science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics--the growth areas of the state's
knowledge economy. We cannot meet Maryland's needs without closing the gap and getting more
students on the path to success through higher education."
Closing the achievement gap
is one of the three signature USM initiatives that Chancellor Kirwan has
unveiled this fall to address the major challenges to Maryland's economic and educational leadership. In addition to
closing the achievement gap, the chancellor has established a "green"
initiative for system-wide sustainability, putting
USM in the forefront of educational and institutional responses to global
climate change. The chancellor's third initiative focuses on competitiveness
and using the resources of USM to put Maryland and its students on a footing for success in the new
global knowledge economy.
"The State of Maryland for years has been extremely fortunate to have one of
the country's best educated populations, and as a result, a workforce that is
the envy of our nation," said USM Regent Orlan Johnson. "Closing the
achievement gap, in short order, will provide us the unique opportunity to
continue to fuel the economic engine of our state with an increased number of
highly educated and technologically savvy individuals that will be required to
replace many of the retiring baby boomers."
As part of this effort, USM has joined the
national Access to Success initiative, a project of the National
Association of System Heads (NASH). The 19 university systems participating in
the project have adopted a goal of cutting by at least half the gaps in
college-going and college success that separate low-income and minority
students from other young Americans by the year 2015.
Contact: John Buettner
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: jbuettner@usmd.edu
