U.S. education leader featured at HBCU event

By Neil Offen

noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646

DURHAM -- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be the keynote speaker at N.C. Central University's symposium on the future of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the culminating event of the school's centennial celebration.

In addition to Duncan, the symposium -- held on campus June 3 and 4 -- will bring together nearly 500 education leaders, from across the state and around the nation, to discuss "Setting the Agenda for Historically Black Colleges and Universities."

"All of our major speakers, except one, have accepted invitations to the symposium, and that includes Secretary Duncan," said Percy Murray, special assistant to the NCCU chancellor who is helping to organize the event. "We have been very successful in getting the people we want."

Other speakers scheduled to appear at the symposium include John Wilson Jr., executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs; UNC system President Erskine Bowles; Molly Broad, former UNC system president and current head of the American Council of Education; Belle Wheelan, president of the accrediting body, the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges; and Roderick McDavis, president of Ohio University.

Leaders of all historically black colleges in America have been invited to the gathering as have top administrators at each of the constituent campuses of the UNC system, with particularly large representations from the HBCUs in the state.

The goal of the symposium, according to the event's mission statement, is to engage a group of scholars and practitioners in a critical analysis of the role and future of HBCUs and to articulate a set of policy recommendations to ensure their future viability."

Symposium organizers have commissioned papers by scholars who conduct research on issues of access and success for minority and low wealth students. The papers and the discussions will focus on student success and access; diversification of the curriculum; community engagement; and comprehensive funding approaches.