Conversations about Immigration and Higher Education

Posted by on May 14, 2007

With the support of the College Board, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the Institute for Higher Education Policy, and the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan, the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good will be hosting a national conference:

Challenges and Opportunities:
Conversations about Immigration and Higher Education

The conference will be held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, June 11-13, 2007.

This conference will unite speakers and participants from diverse backgrounds, and engage them in reframing and reorienting the discussion on immigration and educational access. The conference aims to encourage leadership, prompt action among educators and policymakers, and strengthen collaboration among individuals for whom the outcome of this debate is most relevant.

Learn more at http://www.thenationalforum.org and click on Conference Information & Homepage. If you are interested in attending the conference, registration can be completed online at http://www.thenationalforum.org/OurEfforts/Proj/Immigration/index.htm. The conference is free to participants.

The conference’s keynote speaker will be John Qui?ones, one of the anchors of “Primetime” at ABC News. Other confirmed speakers include Charles B. Reed, Chancellor, California State University; Antonia Hernandez, President, California Community Foundation; Jamie Merisotis, President, Institute for Higher Education Policy; Wendy Erisman, PhD, Senior Research Analyst and Director of Evaluation, Institute for Higher Education Policy; Jorge Chapa, Director, Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Norma Cantu, Professor, Higher Education Law, University of Texas-Austin and Former Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights; and James Montoya, Vice President, the College Board.

For further information on the conference or any of the National Forum’s activities, please call (734) 615-8882 or email nationalforum@umich.edu

On a related note, you may be interested in this report issued last month by the Institute for Higher Education Policy: Opening the Door to the American Dream: Increasing Higher Education and Success for Immigrants. This important study examines the barriers faced by immigrant students, the possible results of not addressing these difficulties, and the benefits the country can reap if the barriers are overcome. To view the report online, please visit the Institute for Higher Education Policy’s website http://www.ihep.org