U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter will participate in two events at a College Affordability Town Hall at the University of Pennsylvania on Friday, Feb. 24. Kantor will give opening remarks at 1:00 p.m. ET, discussing the importance of tackling rising college costs to ensure that America’s students can obtain the education and training they need to prepare for jobs of the 21st century. At 2:30 p.m. ET, she will take part in a panel discussion on college affordability with Ed Rendell, former governor of Pennsylvania, and Joni Finney, practice professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
Business and civic leaders, college presidents and vice-presidents, faculty, and higher education stakeholders will also participate in the town hall, including Michael Nutter, mayor of Philadelphia. The event features a series of panel discussions on what Pennsylvania schools are doing to address college affordability issues and how they are working toward President Obama’s goal of making college more accessible to students through reforming student aid, providing incentives for institutions to control costs, and giving families new tools to make informed decisions on higher education.