Ivory Toldson, deputy director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and James T. Minor, deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs in the Office of Postsecondary Education, will participate in the American Educational Research Association's annual meeting in Chicago. This year's meeting, taking place April 16-20, will bring together thousands of research scholars and focus on an array of issues—ranging from early learning to higher education and education technology to language literacy. The conference theme is "Toward Justice: Culture, Language and Heritage in Education Research and Praxis."
On Saturday, April 18, Toldson will participate in a symposium titled "Teacher Education and Black Communities: Implications for Access, Equity and Achievement." The symposium will provide an in-depth analysis of the educational issues of K-12 African-American students in urban settings and the need to recruit and retain more black teachers to help improve the educational outcomes of these students.
On Sunday, April 19, both Toldson and Minor will participate in a town hall focusing on President Obama's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence. The session will highlight the Administration's higher education policies and programs that contribute to and advance student success. Toldson and Minor will discuss college affordability, retention and institutional behavior toward increasing college completion, as well as the President's 2020 goal of leading the world in college completion. In addition, Minor will address innovation, research development and the importance of leveraging the Department's grant programs.