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UF honors COE graduate Willis Holcombe with 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award

UF College of Education graduate Willis Holcombe, who has provided a lifetime of illustrious service to his country and to Florida’s higher education systen, received the 2014 UF Distinguished Alumnus Award during the COE’s annual Recognition Banquet held April 11 at the UF Hilton. 

Willis Holcombe

Willis Holcombe

Holcombe served as a marine captain from 1969 to 1972, and went on to graduate from UF with a master’s degree in education in 1972 and a Ph.D. in college administration in 1974. He made a lasting impact at Broward and Brevard community colleges. As vice president at Brevard (1981-87), he promoted a culture of academic integrity and collaboration. In two stints at Broward, Holcombe held a number of posts until he was named president in 1987– a position he held for 17 years.

Holcombe was named interim president of Florida State College at Jacksonville in December of 2012 after coming out of retirement in 2006 to serve as interim president at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale. He also “unretired” to serve as chancellor of the Florida College System for four years, supporting the growth of baccalaureate degrees at Florida’s community colleges.

He recently helped lead a six-month strategic planning effort by the UF Institute of Higher Education, part of the College of Education. Holcombe facilitated focus groups and brainstorming sessions involving more than two dozen IHE alumni, graduate students and national leaders in higher education administration.

Holcombe began his higher education career as a 1973 recipient of the W.K. Kellogg Fellowship at UF, studying under James Wattenbarger, widely recognized as the father of Florida’s community college system. In 2003, Holcombe received the Dr. James L. Wattenbarger Award from the Association of Florida Colleges; and in 2011, he was presented with the association’s inaugural Willis Holcombe Leadership Award.

“I’ve known Willis Holcombe for 20 years and believe he has followed in Dr. Wattenbarger’s footsteps as the lead architect of the new Florida college system,” said IHE director Dale Campbell. “He carries a great deal of respect from his peers. He’s very deserving of this award.”

Holcombe has received more than 25 fellowships and honors during his 40 years in education. He served on the Florida Articulation Coordinating Committee for 19 years and is a strong advocate for international education, having served three terms as national chairman of the College Consortium for International Studies. He also has served on the boards of many community groups and was a torchbearer for the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta.

 

 

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Institute hires emerging scholar in higher education policy, economics

The University of Florida’s higher education administration program has appointed a new assistant professor with more than a decade of research experience in higher education economics and policy, especially at the state level.

KRAMER, Dennis (crppd)

Dennis A. Kramer II

Dennis A. Kramer II, an acting assistant professor of higher education at the University of Virginia, will join the UF College of Education faculty in August and serve as the associate director for the college’s Institute of Higher Education. Kramer specializes in advanced quantitative research methods for studying such issues as the impact of financial aid policies on secondary and postsecondary success, and the economic influences on the college choice process. He also has a strong research interest in institutional decision-making and financial issues and trends in college athletics. 

Prior to his University of Virginia post, Kramer worked from 2010-2013 as a senior research and policy analyst for the Georgia Department of Education, where he managed Georgia’s policy development and evaluation research. He also has been an adjunct instructor at Georgia State University. 

He served as the graduate policy and research fellow for the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics from 2008-2010. His analysis of intercollegiate athletic spending and student-athlete academic success has been reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside HigherEd and numerous academic publications and news media outlets.

Kramer is due to receive his doctorate in higher education economics and policy evaluation in May from the University of Georgia Institute of Higher Education. He received his M.Ed. in postsecondary administration and educational policy in 2008 from the University of Southern California and has a bachelor’s in psychology from San Diego State University.

“This opportunity at the University of Florida will enable me to not only work with high-quality faculty and graduate students, but also to engage in scholarly research that can contribute to both state and national education policy development,” Kramer said.

Kramer currently contributes on a $500,000 research grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the impact of physical activity on academic achievement and social behaviors. He recently completed a study analyzing effective school disciplinary practices, funded by the National Association of State Boards of Education.

“Dennis Kramer is an emerging scholar in higher education research and policy analysis,” said Dale Campbell, head of UF’s higher education administration program and the Institute of Higher Education. “He will help us continue our rich tradition of scholarship and leadership development as we look to shape the future in today’s rapidly changing world of higher education.”

CONTACTS
   SOURCE: Dennis A. Kramer II; dkramerii@gmail.com; 714-514-6442
   SOURCE: Dale Campbell, director, UF Institute of Higher Education; dfc@coe.ufl.edu; 352-273-4300
   WRITER: Larry Lansford, director, news and communications, UF College of Education; llansford@coe.ufl.edu; 352-273-4137

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UF institute rethinks its strategic role in transforming higher education

With myriad underlying forces driving rapid change in higher education—more online courses and degrees, community colleges offering four-year baccalaureate degrees, declining funding, the looming shortage of qualified administrators, and student loan outrage, to name a few—the traditionally trend-setting Institute of Higher Education (IHE) at UF’s College of Education is rethinking how it can best meet the needs of higher education and its leaders.

IHE poster (2014)“Higher education is sailing into the perfect storm—a tsunami of changes in so many areas at once that institutions must prepare and plan for,” said IHE director Dale Campbell, a professor and head of UF’s higher education administration program. “For our institute to make effective, lasting change in today’s rapidly changing world, we first must look at ourselves and determine the best approaches and actions we can take in shaping the brightest future possible for higher education.”

Campbell and other college and institute officials have launched a sweeping strategic planning process that, starting last June, has included focus groups and brainstorming sessions involving more than two dozen IHE alumni, graduate students and state and national leaders in higher education administration. The sessions were facilitated by Willis Holcombe, a University of Florida IHE alumnus, former chancellor of Florida’s community college system, president emeritus of Broward College and recently retired as interim president of Florida State College in Jacksonville.

The process culminated last week in Orlando, at a UF alumni gathering at the annual meeting of the national Community College Futures Assembly, where Campbell unveiled the resulting strategic plan outlining the IHE’s “re-energized” mission and vision.

Campbell said the IHE’s strategic planning process yielded four major goals:

GOAL 1: Strengthen higher education worldwide by developing the next generation of well-prepared, forward-thinking higher education leaders, by providing the educational experiences, learning and research environment and grounding in strategic change management to develop effective leaders and policymakers.

GOAL 2: Secure alliances with the Florida state college system, higher education leaders, alumni and state and national organizations to foster research-based policies and practices that enhance student learning and success—strengthening UF’s role as a national leader.;

GOAL 3: Position UF’s Institute of Higher Education as the premier thought leader in the state and nation on public policy in higher education;

GOAL 4: Serve as an independent research arm to the Florida college system, state government and national policy groups, addressing critical issues in higher education policy and practice.

DaleCampbell

Dale Campbell

“We will build upon our past success with a goal to become the premier graduate program in higher education administration in the nation,” Campbell said.

UF’s Higher Education Administration program has been a national force in graduate education since the mid-1950s, when the Florida Board of Control sought out UF education professor James Wattenbarger to steer the development of a state plan for community colleges.  Wattenbarger guided the state community college system from 1957 to 1967 before returning to UF to become the founding director of the College of Education’s new Institute of Higher Education.

Since then, through the institute, UF higher education scholars have continued to provide mentoring, networking and professional development opportunities for higher education practitioners and leaders, with special emphasis on Florida community and state colleges, and on increasing college access for underrepresented groups.

The IHE has sponsored the annual Community College Futures Assembly in Orlando since 1995, with the group serving as a national independent policy think tank in tackling the most critical issues facing American community colleges. Last week’s meeting in Orlando marked the group’s 20th anniversary of its founding. The Futures Assembly also presents its nationally recognized Bellwether Awards at its annual meeting highlighting the “best trend-setting practices” among CCFA institutions.

The IHE’s new strategic plan lists several key objectives for both the short and long terms.

Short-term objectives, to be implemented over the next two years, include:

— Co-sponsor the International Conference on College Teaching and Learning set for this March;

— Develop a community college master’s degree in student affairs administration;

— Create applied research centers in Florida’s state colleges in the following areas—teaching and learning and advising; workforce development and economic development strategies; and public policy analysis, strategic management, resource development and financial management;

— Appoint IHE liaison to attend meetings of the Florida College System Council of Presidents and engage with appropriate representative on topics of mutual interest;

— And, additional strategies concerning IHE curriculum revision, internships for IHE graduate students, broader public relations initiatives, and strategies for developing revenue streams for institute sustainability.

Long-term strategies, for implementation over the next five years, include:

— Develop additional stackable credentials within the College of Education to create a new market for expansion and provide a career ladder into the IHE’s graduate programs.

— Secure external funding for endowed chairs in leadership development and in teaching and learning;

— Analyze current markets and trends and changing demographics to ensure program responsiveness and leadership;

“This strategic framework represents a first step in the strategic positioning of the Institute of Higher Education,” said College of Education Dean Glenn Good. “The institute leadership team and I will work with our faculty and staff to consider the plan’s potential impact on their school and modify the plan as needed.”

*          *          *

The College of Education and its Institute of Higher Education would like to thank the following faculty, alumni, colleagues and friends for their help in the development and drafting of the institute’s strategic plan:

Willis Holcombe ---Committee Chair

Willis Holcombe
—Committee Chair

IHE Strategic Planning Committee
— Glenn Good, dean, UF College of Education
— Willis Holcombe (committee chair), past interim president of Florida State College at Jacksonville
— Dale Campbell, professor and director of IHE and the FUTURES Bellwether College Consortium– Pedro Villarreal III, clinical assistant professor, HEA, UF College of Education
— Barbara Keener, chair of UF HEA Alumni Network, and core graduate faculty member in Leadership in Higher Education/Enrollment Management at the School of Education, Capella University
— Judith Bilsky, VP and provost, Florida State College at Jacksonville
— Kathryn Birmingham, CEO and principal, The Research Group
— Tina O’Daniels, associate director, IHE
— Maria Gutierrez Martin, senior director of development, UF College of Education

Focus group participants
— Polly Binns, executive director, Council for Resource Development
— Michael Brawer, CEO, Association of Florida Colleges
— Noah Brown, president and CEO, Association of Community College Trustees
— Walter Bumphus, president and CEO, American Association of Community Colleges
— Conferlete Carney, provost, St. Petersburg College
— Dennis Gallon, president, Palm Beach State College
— Carl Hite, president, Cleveland State Community College, Tenn.
— Kathy Johnson, president, Pasco-Hernando Community College
— Ed Massey, president of Indian River State College
— Kristy Presswood, associate vice president, Daytona State College
— Brian Polding, campus college chair of the School of Business, University of Phoenix (Fla.
— Angel Rodriquez, professor, Broward College
— Debra Volzer, executive director, Pearson Learning Solutions
— Kirk White, president, National Council for Continuing Education and Training
— Josh Wyner, executive director of the college excellence program, Aspen Institute

UF higher education administration students
— Uttam Gaulee, PhD fellow
— Xiadan Hu, PhD fellow
— Makaya McKnight, EdD student
— Timothy Wilson, PhD fellow

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CONTACTS

   SOURCE: Dale Campbell, director, UF Institute of Higher Education, and professor of higher education administration, UF College of Education; dfc@coe.ufl.edu, 352-273-4300

   WRITER: Larry Lansford, director, news and communications, UF College of Education; llansford@coe.ufl.edu; 352-273-4137

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CCFA Bellwether Awards fete top community college innovators

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL—The Community College Futures Assembly has announced the winners of its highly competitive, 19th annual Bellwether Awards at the group’s 2013 policy summit in Orlando.  The Bellwether Awards recognize outstanding community college programs, mainly in the United States and Canada, judged to be at the forefront of innovation and worthy of replicating.

This year’s winners are: Elgin Community College (Elgin, ILL) in the Instructional Programming and Services category, Piedmont Technical College (Greenwood, SC) in the Planning, Governance and Finance category, and Chattanooga State Community College (Chattanooga, TN) in the Workforce Development category.

Dale Campbell, professor and head of the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida’s College of Education, founded the CCFA and the Bellwether Awards in 1995. The institute continues to administer the awards program.

“In more than 1,200 national community colleges, this is one of the highest honors an institute can receive. The awards are similar to being selected by your peers, comparable to the Oscar or Emmy awards,” Campbell said. “Leaders from the winning institution are often hired or recruited by other colleges to replicate the award-winning program. They also receive thousands of phone calls and hundreds of visits to help others replicate the success of their program in other community colleges and institutions.”

The Bellwether Awards’ Instructional Programs and Services category recognizes programs or services that have been designed and successfully implemented to foster or support teaching and learning in the community college. Elgin Community College presented a project called “One school can do so little; together we can do so much.” They cited statistics showing that since 2006 the percent of direct-from-high school graduates at Elgin Community College needing remediation has decreased 8 percent overall, and 10 percent in mathematics because of faculty-centered school district partnerships. This project replicated an Alliance for Readiness meeting by providing opportunities to interact with data, ask questions, and transcend educational boundaries.” For more information on this project please contact: Dr. Libby Roeger, Dean, College Transitions & Developmental Education (847) 214-7463 fax (847) 214-7818 E-mail: eroeger@elgin.edu

The Planning, Governance, and Finance category recognizes programs or activities that have been designed and successful y implemented to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the community college. Piedmont Technical College presented a project called “LEAN in Higher Education: How it Continues to Change Our Culture.” The project created better customer service by becoming LEAN to better record student enrollments through more efficient processes.  After winning, the team had this to say (on video): http://youtu.be/wfVuenmdEfM. For more information, contact: Keith Lasure, Associate Vice President of Process Development, Dean Engineering & Industrial Technology, lasure.k@ptc.edu.

The Workforce Development category recognizes programs that create public or private strategic alliances and partnerships that promote community and economic development. Chattanooga State Community College presented a project called “The Wacker Institute: Diplomas with Job Offers!” Chattanooga State has teamed with Wacker Polysilicon-North America to create the Wacker Institute. This innovative program, which includes working in a chemical pilot plant, allows graduates in Chemical Engineering Technology to leave with their diploma in one hand and a job offer from Wacker Chemical in the other. For more information, contact: George Graham, Department Director, Wacker Institute & Dept. Head, Chemical Engineering Technology, George.Graham@ChattanoogaState.edu.

The featured keynote address was presented by Leslie Crutchfield, Senior Advisor at the Foundation Strategy Group and co-author of the critically acclaimed book “Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Non-Profits.”

This year’s policy summit was led by Thomas Bailey, Ph.D., Director of the Community College Research Center (ccrc.tc.columbia.edu) with his remark on “Scaling Innovation: Research on the Promising Practices in Developmental Math Education.” J. Noah Brown, Ph.D. president of the Association of Community College Trustees (Acct.org) also provided a session showcasing his new book “First in the World: Community College and America’s Future.” Together the lessons from the speakers and keynote address served as the basis for introspection, strategic decision making, selecting critical issues, and directing policy creation for distribution to key administration and community college oversight board of directors including the Department of Education, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC), the National State Directors of Community Colleges, the National Council for Continuing Education and Training (NCCET), the Council for Resource Development (CRD), the National Council of Instructional Administrators (NCIA), the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), the Academic Chairs Academy as well as legislators and key policy makers.

The Community College Futures Assembly convenes annually as an independent policy summit to identify critical issues facing community college leaders and to recognize Bellwether finalists as trend-setting institutions. Annually, between 100 and 500 applications are received from around the world. Peer-reviewed committees judge entries in each of the three categories to select ten finalists to go to Lake Buena Vista to present and showcase their projects. The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT.org) oversees the judging process while, the Council for Resource Development (CRDnet.org) sponsors and provides the peer review judging for the Planning, Governance, and Finance (PGF) category, and the National Council for Continuing Education and Training (NCCET.org) sponsors and provides the peer review judging for the workforce development (WD) category. In almost two decades there have been thousands of applicants but only 55 winning projects honored programs with the Bellwether Award.

CONTACT
Source:  Dale Campbell, Institute of Higher Education, UF College of Education, dfc@coe.ufl.edu, 352-273-4300.

 

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Institute honors 11 alumni in higher ed administration

Flanked on far left by COE Dean Glenn Good and on far right by UF higher education administration program head Dale Campbell, the Outstanding Alumni award winners are, from left: Anne Kress, Jeanna Mastrodicasa, Devi Drexler, Kristy Presswood, Carl Hite, Tina O'Daniels, Deanne Williams, and Hank Dunn.

UF’s higher education administration program only selects its Outstanding Graduates every five years, so it’s a big deal when the winners are announced. That’s why officials at the UF Institute of Higher Education announced this year’s 11 recipients at a special gathering of their peers—at a special alumni reunion and awards banquet held concurrently on Jan. 28 with the annual gathering of the Community College Futures Assembly in Orlando.

The competitive awards program recognizes selected professionals—all Ph.D. or Ed.D. graduates of UF’s higher education administration program—for their effectiveness as community college administrators, participation in collegewide strategic planning, community involvement, and professional activities at the state, regional and national levels.

The UF alumni winners of 2012 were:

— Devi Drexler, educational policy consultant with the Florida Department of Education division of accountability, research and measurement
— Hank Dunn, president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (N.C.)
— Carl Hite, president of Cleveland State Community College (Tenn.)
— Anne Kress, president of Monroe Community College (Rochester, NY)
— Anna Lebesch, vice president for workforce development at St. Johns River State College (in Palatka, Fla.)
— Jeanna Mastrodicasa, assistant vice president for student affairs, University of Florida
— Christopher Mullin, program director for policy analysis with the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington D.C.
— Tina Barreiro O’Daniels, associate provost at the Tarpon Springs campus of St. Petersburg College (Fla.)
— Brian Polding, chair of the College of Information Systems and Technology, and the School of Business at North Florida campus of the University of Phoenix (in Jacksonville)
— Kristy Presswood, associate vice president of the College of Education, Daytona State College (Fla.)
— Deanne Williams, associate professor and chair, hospitality management department at Virginia State University (in Petersburg, Va.)

The recipients emerged from a pool of 30 nominees reviewed earlier in the month by a panel of leading higher education professionals from the CCFA organization.

Capsule summaries below highlight noteworthy achievements and honors of the winners:

Devi Drexler, PhD
Educational Policy Consultant
Florida Department of Education; Division of Accountability, Research and Measurement

At the Florida Department of Education, Dr. Drexler provides statewide analysis and information to support policy decisions of the deputy and commissioner of education, such as FCAT analysis and review. She’s worked in student affairs administration at several institutions including the University of Florida, FSU, Georgia Gwinnett, Santa Fe, Lake Sumter and Tallahassee Community Colleges. Drexler is a member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the Pi Lambda Theta International Honor Society.


Hank Dunn, EdD
President
Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College (N.C.)

Dr. Dunn has worked in community colleges for nearly 30 years, with 21 years in the Florida Community College System. At A-B Tech, he aligns budgets to the strategic plan, creates flexible learning formats and helped to pass a countywide sales tax worth $129 million to the college for repair, renovation and building of facilities. Dunn helped increase enrollment by 10,000 students in a four-year period in a past position at Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana.


Carl Hite, PhD
President
Cleveland State Community College (Tenn.)

During his 15 years as president of Cleveland State Community College, Dr. Hite has made sure his college not only keeps pace with the tremendous changes occurring in higher education, but leads the way in implementing essential changes. CSCC is a past recipient of the prestigious Bellwether Award, received after the college’s redesigned math program was recognized by President Obama as a program that every American community college should replicate. Hite is leading efforts to scale up the redesign “across the curriculum.” Hite is president of the National Alliance of Community and Technical Colleges.


Anne M. Kress, PhD
President
Monroe Community College, Rochester, NY

Previously, as provost at Santa Fe Community College, Dr. Kress negotiated a faculty contract change, grew international programming and sustainability efforts, began the Center for Innovation and Economic Development, and moved SFC to a four-year degree. As the current president of Monroe Community College, fundraising has improved each year during the recession and MCC hosted the first event to raise over $100,000 in one evening. MCC has expanded its honors program and changed policies to improve student success and completion.


Anna M. Lebesch, EdD
Vice President for Workforce Development
St. Johns River State College (in Palatka, Fla.)

Dr. Lebesch has worked in higher education for over 15 years as a counselor, instructor and administrator. Last year, she implemented St. Johns River’s first bachelor of science degree in organizational management and helped garner a $1.9 million federal grant for the college’s nursing programs. She is a member of the Reaccreditation Leadership Team and the Institutional Planning Council. Lebesch is an active member of numerous Clay County associations and chairs the county’s economic development council.


Jeanna Mastrodicasa, PhD
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
University of Florida

In her current post, Dr. Mastrodicasa developed the UF Division of Student Affairs’ 2010-2015 strategic plan and submitted all materials for the SACS five-year accreditation review. She has made assessment an integrated part of the division’s work processes. In her previous position as associate director of the UF Honors program, she reorganized the university’s undergraduate research program and managed applications for Fulbright Scholars from UF. Mastrodicasa has co-authored a book about the millennial generation in the workforce and is serving her second three-year term as a Gainesville city commissioner.


Christopher Mullin, PhD
Program Director for Policy Analysis
American Association of Community Colleges (D.C.)

Dr. Mullin provides analysis and data to guide AACC’s advocacy efforts on causes such as federal student financial assistance and college costs and policies. He has written 30 policy documents, 10 peer-reviewed journal articles, four book chapters, and edited one book. Mullin serves on the advisory boards of the national Pathways to College Network, the National Education Finance Conference and the Gates Research Advisory Board of the Institute for Higher Education Policy.


Tina Barreiro O’Daniels, EdD
Associate Provost
St. Petersburg College, Tarpon Springs Campus (Fla.)

As the college’s No. 2 administrator, Dr. O’Daniels supports the provost in operating a 120-acre campus with 6,000 students at the Tarpon Springs campus of St. Petersburg College. She serves as associate provost and also is chief student affairs officer and student dean, while participating in collegewide strategic planning and policy implementation. She is an editorial board member for the Council for the Study of Community Colleges and continues to serve as an executive coach and learning plan mentor for UF’s Institute of Higher Education.


Brian Polding, PhD
Chair, College of Information Systems and Technology, & School of Business
North Florida campus of the University of Phoenix

Dr. Polding, the North Florida campus 2011 Outstanding Employee, has chaired the School of Business for 11 years and also is acting director of academic affairs. He supervises eight faculty area chairs and 80 part-time faculty members and is a member of the university president’s academic cabinet. He also teaches and serves on doctoral dissertation committees. He has consulted with companies such as IBM and AT&T on the development of management training programs. Polding is a Supreme Court certified mediator for the Florida Family Courts.


Kristy Presswood, PhD
Associate Vice President, College of Education
Daytona State College (Fla.)

Dr. Presswood has worked in numerous divisions in her 18 years at Daytona State. She was instrumental in the early implementation of a campus computer network and an online student services system, and currently oversees adult education and the School of Education. The education school has a robust system of tracking all pre-service teachers, and Presswood’s future plans call for automating processes that will advance faculty advising, student tracking and field experience tracking for the school and college.


Deanne Williams, EdD
Associate Professor and Chair, Hospitality Management Department
Virginia State University

Williams spearheaded the accreditation of VSU’s hospitality management program that led to its transition from program to department status. She also obtained grants to provide low-income students with scholarships, which had a direct effect on graduation rates. She also serves as an American Council on Education Internationalization committee member and launched the university’s first formal study-abroad curriculum. Williams is a member of the Petersburg Area Tourism Board and the National Advisory Board of the Disney College Program.

UF’s institute of Higher Education works closely with its affiliate colleges in offering continuing professional development opportunities for practitioners and conducting needed research in the field of higher education and community college administration.

The Community College Futures Assembly, now in its 18th year, convenes annually as an independent national policy forum for key opinion leaders to work as a “think tank” in identifying critical issues facing the future of community colleges. The group also conducts the nationally recognized Bellwether Awards to honor trend-setting community colleges.

CONTACTS

SOURCE: Dale Campbell, interim director, School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education, Uf College of Education, dfc@coe.ufl.edu; 352-273-4300.

MEDIA RELATIONS: Larry Lansford, Director, COE News & Communications, UF College of Education, llansford@coe.ufl.edu; 352-273-4137

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Higher ed professor co-authors policy brief to help Latino males attain college degrees

Ponjuan

University of Florida education researcher Luis Ponjuan has co-authored a policy brief distributed nationwide on Tuesday (Nov. 29) by the national Institute of Higher Education Policy that offers a blueprint for clearing the overwhelming barriers that Hispanic-Latino boys face on their educational journeys towards a college education.

The brief, titled “Men of Color: Ensuring the Academic Success of Latino Males in Higher Education,” is the first in a series of planned publications focusing on “men of color’ in higher education, produced by IHEP’s Pathways to College Network, an alliance of national organizations that advance college opportunity for underserved students.

The “Men of Color” brief, written by Ponjuan and Victor Sáenz, assistant professor of higher education at the University of Texas at Austin, outlines actions that organizations and communities can take in developing interventions to reverse the oppressive educational trends of Latino males.

“Our blueprint promotes rigorous new research and the use of evidence-based policies and practices that align efforts across middle school, high school and higher education in enhancing college access and success for underserved students,” Ponjuan said.

To download free copies of the policy brief, visit IHEP’s website at www.ihep.org.

The Institute of Higher Education Policy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that develops and supports research activities promoting access to and success in higher education for all students.

Latinos are now 15 percent of the U.S. population. Yet Latinos, or Hispanics, earn only 6 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, according to the American Council on Education. This is significantly less than whites, blacks and Asians. Latino males also have one of the lowest high school graduation and college enrollment rates in the country.

“While research on Latino males is limited and only points to the many challenges facing them, there exist a few promising practices that promote these students’ advancement in education—all the way from elementary to secondary and through postsecondary,” said IHEP President Michelle Asha Cooper.  “We present real-life interventions that can be taken advantage of today to help strengthen the educational success for all Latino males.”

CONTACTS

   SOURCE: Luis Ponjuan, assistant professor and director, UF Institute of Higher Education, UF College of Education, lponjuan@coe.ufl.edu; 352-273-4313

   WRITER: Larry Lansford, director, news and communications, UF College of Education; llansford@coe.ufl.edu; 352-273-4137

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