Message from Our President

Opinions & Commentaries

The Scientific Imperative of Achieving Diversity
By Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D., and Arthur L. Coleman
Featured on Forbes.com
June 8, 2010

We can make our nation stronger by encouraging minorities to pursue higher education.

One of the toughest issues facing America today is how to sustain our nation's prosperity within a rapidly changing global economy. There's no simple solution to the problem, but we do know one critical element: investing in education.

Among our many educational investments, we must remain focused on tapping the potential of our expanding, increasingly diverse workforce. To this end, we must ensure diversity within our higher-education institutions, as it is the pipeline to a workforce that will allow us to meet both vital economic and educational aims. Our nation's colleges and universities have the responsibility of forging diverse learning environments, and helping tomorrow's workers become critical thinkers, effective communicators, ethical decision-makers and effective team members (See "The Economic Imperative of Diversity"). The diversity imperative has significant implications for our nation in nearly every professional field and corresponding academic discipline. But in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), specifically as it relates to the health care professions, data clearly underscores diversity's importance.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10 of the fastest-growing occupations in the U.S. are health care related. In 2008 health care provided 14.3 million jobs for wage and salary workers. Between 2008 and 2018 it is predicted that the health care field will generate 3.2 million new wage and salary jobs, more than any other industry. Yet STEM fields look little like the America of the 21st century, with much smaller percentages of female, African-American, Native American, Latino and low-income students than those pursuing other undergraduate disciplines...read more

The Economic Imperative Of Achieving Diversity
By Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D., and Arthur L. Coleman
Featured on Forbes.com
April 27, 2010

Around the globe the pressure to raise college completion levels is growing. Many political and business leaders recognize that prosperity, within a rapidly changing global economy, requires more knowledgeable workers: Today's employers expect workers to be, among other things, critical thinkers, effective communicators, ethical decision-makers and effective team members.

Given these realities, the educational community faces significant challenges—and opportunities—in ensuring that all students are equipped with the skills that are vital to America's long-term economic success.

Who are these current students? Are they ready to become future workers? Are we ready for them? Current demographic trends show that today's workforce is more diverse than in previous decades...read more

Recommitting To Educational Opportunity
By Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D.
Featured on Forbes.com
March 23, 2010

The benefits of helping low-income students get a degree far outweigh the difficulties. What are the benefits of going to college? Since the passing of the GI Bill at the end World War II and the growth of the community college movement, politicians and educators have repeatedly debated the point. Is it worth the time and money? Who is benefiting, and how?

For many young adults, particularly those from low-income families, there are massive challenges associated with finishing a college degree. For these students, there is often a real need to generate an income immediately. They may also be deterred by the rising cost of college and student loans. Many low-income young adults must manage competing obligations, such as family and work-related responsibilities, that restrict their ability to enroll and complete college...read more

Preparing Students for College and Beyond
By Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D.
Featured on Forbes.com
Feb. 24, 2010

Awarding more college degrees is an important goal—but we need to make sure our students are ready to succeed.

In the midst of anxieties about the nation's economy and unemployment rate, there is much discussion about the responsibility of the educational community. Research confirms that increasing the number of Americans with a college degree would help our economy recover faster and help the United States retain its competitive advantage globally. The best way to do that is to improve the readiness of high school students to succeed in college—and teach college graduates how to succeed in a real job.

Several years ago, the nonprofit educational reform organization Achieve, Inc. conducted a national study of high school graduates, employers and college instructors to assess the college- and career-readiness of high school graduates. According to the survey, as many as 40% of the nation's high school graduates said they were inadequately prepared to deal with the demands of postsecondary education or entry-level jobs...read more

Closing The STEM Gap
By Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D.
Featured on Forbes.com
Dec. 22, 2009

To retain America's leadership in scientific disciplines, we must make the success of minority students a priority.

In November, President Obama announced the Educate to Innovate campaign, an initiative designed to improve the participation and performance of America's students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It recognizes that American students are underperforming in math and science at a time when our nation needs those skills the most, and seeks to increase students' proficiency in related subject areas, expand education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups...read more

Are U.S. College Students Financially Literate?
By Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D.
Featured on Forbes.com
Nov. 24, 2009

Students must be given the tools to secure their own financial future.

Almost a year after the worst financial crisis in decades, college and university leaders continue to struggle with their new reality—one defined by state budget cuts, enrollment caps, decreased endowments and increased college costs.

Of all the crises at hand, ballooning college costs (including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation) have gotten the most attention. According to a recent report from the College Board, costs for the 2009-10 academic year are up, even as institutional leaders struggle to resolve their precarious financial situations. The average price of tuition and fees for in-state students at four-year public colleges in the U.S. rose 6.5% over the last year to $7,020. Even in the midst of larger economic concerns, history suggests college prices will continue to rise...read more

Race Still Matters
By Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D. and and David A. Longanecker
Featured onInsideHigherEd.com
Sept. 3, 2009

Does race matter? As rhetorical as it seems, this question continues to emerge as a topic worthy of debate. In the wake of electing the first black American as the 44th president of the United States, many people had a sigh of relief that America had proven to be post-racial. For many others, however, particularly many people of color, their excitement about electing Barack Obama was muted by the awareness, reinforced daily, that race still matters greatly in America , and that the election was diminishing the perception of this reality, particularly for the non-minority population.

Six months into President Obama’s term, we now celebrate the confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court. In between these two historic events, we also witnessed the unfortunate debacle in Cambridge, Massachusetts involving Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Police Sergeant James Crowley, of the Cambridge police department. In varying ways, each of these scenarios has raised numerous questions about race and its prevalence in today’s society. Does race matter?... read more