New Advocacy & Policy Center To Help Transform Minority Education In America Announced

Washington, D.C. – Building on a distinguished 110-year history of connecting students to college success and opportunity, the College Board today announced the creation of the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center. Designed to help transform education in America and increase the number of students who earn a college degree, the Center will make critical connections between policy, research and real-world practice to develop innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges in education today.

The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center will concentrate on issues related to college preparation and access, affordability and financial aid, and admission and completion. Drawing from the experience of the College Board’s active membership which consists of education professionals from more than 5,700 institutions, the Advocacy & Policy Center will work to ensure students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to succeed in and graduate from college, with a special focus on underserved populations – especially low-income students, students of color, and first-generation college students.

“Education is the foundation for achieving a better quality of life, economic prosperity and greater opportunity,” said College Board President and former West Virginia Governor Gaston Caperton. “Now more than ever, practical, research-based solutions are needed to improve our education system and enable millions more students to graduate from college prepared for 21st-century success. The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center is dedicated to helping fill that need.”

The Advocacy & Policy Center, with support from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, recognizes that too many students are falling through the cracks as they move along the preschool to post-secondary education pipeline. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the U.S. is one of the very few countries where younger adults are less educated than older adults. In fact, the U.S. ranks only 10th in the world in the number of young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 who have completed a two- or four-year degree. Immediate action is required for the U.S. to rejoin the top ranks of countries with a college-educated workforce.

“In today’s global economy, it isn’t just an education but a college education that is necessary to compete and succeed,” said William “Brit” Kirwan, chair of the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center Advisory Committee and chancellor of the University System of Maryland. “The effect of diminished access has a devastating impact on the lives of individuals seeking advancement through education and on our collective hopes for advancing our society's interests and welfare. The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center is dedicated to developing innovative approaches and solutions to the most pressing issues facing education today.”

The Center draws on the College Board’s active membership of education professionals from institutions across the education spectrum, experience with district and school reform models, and extensive reach into schools and colleges. Its reach extends to students, parents, educators and policymakers – individuals and groups not just interested in transforming education in America, but invested in it.

The College Board will also rely on the Advocacy & Policy Center Advisory Committee of distinguished and engaged scholars, educators, policymakers and business leaders from around the nation to further the vision of the Center. From Charlie Reed in California, chancellor of The California State University and Raj Vinnakota, co-founder and managing director, The SEED Foundation to Eduardo Padrón, president of Miami Dade College in Florida, the Center’s advisory committee will help shape the agenda and develop sustainable long term priorities that will have a substantial positive impact on the direction of education in the U.S.

Each year millions of students and their parents are affected by the decisions of educators, policymakers and elected officials. The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center is uniquely qualified to address an urgent need for coordinated leadership and collaborate with education stakeholders, bringing together the innovative ideas, research and hands-on experience that will lead to fundamental, systemic reform.

Please visit http://advocacy.collegeboard.org/ to learn more about The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center.

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The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center

The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center was established to help transform education in America. Guided by the College Board’s principles of excellence and equity in education, the Center works to ensure that students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to succeed in college and beyond. Critical connections between policy, research and real-world practice are made to develop innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges in education today. Drawing from the experience of the College Board’s active membership consisting of education professionals from more than 5,700 institutions, priorities include: College Preparation & Access, College Affordability & Financial Aid, and College Admission & Completion.

The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center Advisory Committee Members

Chair William “Brit” Kirwan, Chancellor, University System of Maryland; Vice Chair Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and Director of Scholarships and Student Aid, Syracuse University; Ex-Officio Members Gaston Caperton, President, The College Board and Former Governor of West Virginia, and Gene Budig, Senior Presidential Advisor, The College Board; Advisory Committee Members Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent, The School District of Philadelphia; Eric Fingerhut, Chancellor, The Ohio Board of Regents; Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor, The City University of New York; Walter J. Hass, Chair Evelyn and Walter Hass, Jr. Fund and Levi Strauss & Co.; Eduardo Padrón, President, Miami Dade College; Michael McPherson, President, The Spencer Foundation; Hilary Pennington, Director of Education, Postsecondary Success and Special Initiatives, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Charlie Reed, Chancellor, The California State University; Jerry Reinsdorf, Chairman, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls; Reginald L. Robinson, Director for the Center for Law and Government, Washburn University; Gov. Roy Romer, Special Advisor, The College Board; Morton Schapiro, President, Northwestern University; Rajiv Vinnakota, Co-Founder and Managing Director, The SEED Foundation; and Nancy Zimpher, Chancellor, The State University of New York.