Opportunity Nation Higher Education Council Regional Summits
The Opportunity Nation Higher Education Council was created to highlight the bright spots of opportunity that are our nation’s colleges and universities. Private, public, community, urban, religiously affiliated, and more – all types of colleges and universities are opportunity generators for their communities.
Each of Opportunity Nation’s Higher Education Council members have each committed to further spread the mission of Opportunity Nation by holding regional events around the country. These events will be community-specific and range in size and audience based on each campus’ own unique strengths and relationships with their communities.
We invite you to contact us to learn more about attending one of Opportunity Nation’s Higher Education events in your area, or for more information on joining the Opportunity Nation Higher Education Council.
Upcoming Events
Wayne County Community College District
Dates: Friday, April 13, 2012
Wayne County Community College District will host a conference around the pivotal role that educators, advocates and policymakers can play in the local and national agenda responding to the collateral forces of educational inequality, racial segregation and concentrated poverty that continue to impede economic opportunity.
Des Moines Area Community College
Dates: April 23, 2012
On April 23, DMACC will co-sponsor the gathering of 228 Future Farmers of America Chapters in Iowa, which has over 12,500 members for the 2012 State FFA Convention. They will partner with the FFA Foundation and Opportunity Nation to conduct a session entitled “I Believe in…OPPORTUNITY”.
Seattle Community Colleges
Dates: Late May, 2012
Seattle Community Colleges’ Opportunity Nation event will bring together the city’s leaders in government, business, college and nonprofit agencies to showcase the first wave of Pathways to Careers’ efforts and engage the community in a dialogue to explore ways we can work together to bring these efforts to scale throughout the city. The goal of Pathways to Careers is to build educational pathways to middle-class jobs for youth and low-income working adults. The event will be in partnership with the City of Seattle, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Seattle Jobs Initiative, SkillUp Washington, Seattle Port Jobs, the Seattle Foundation, and the Service Employees International Union
University of Texas El Paso
Dates: May 2 & 3 2012
UTEP's two-day Opportunity Days will not will not only showcase University programs and generate excitement about UTEP’s forthcoming centennial, but will launch some long-term regional initiatives. On May 2, a program Building Opportunity and Social Mobility through Collaboration: The El Paso Model will build on the nationally recognized success of the work of UTEP, EPCC, area school districts, and other El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence partners to increase academic achievement and social mobility. The program will explore the relationship between educational attainment, economic development and quality of life in this Paso del Norte region. On May 3, more than 7500 5th and 7th graders from area schools will participate in educational and motivational activities on the UTEP campus.
Saint Anselm College
Dates: Fall 2012
Saint Anselm College will host an event in 2012 in partnership with the New Hampshire Institute of Politics that focuses on the role of opportunity in influencing political dialogue and movements.
Miami Dade College
Dates: Fall 2012
Miami Dade College will host an Opportunity Nation regional summit focused on the role community colleges can play as Opportunity Generators - in economic, social, and academic development and preparing students to be engaged and civically-minded members of their communities.
Appalachian State University
Dates: Fall 2012
Appalachian State University’s Opportunity Nation event will take place during its annual Fall Convocation in order to springboard discussions about opportunity, address the goals of Opportunity Nation, reflect on accomplishments thus far, and discuss the “next steps” on campus and in the State of North Carolina. Appalachian’s commitment to civic engagement will play a central role in this event, and students and event attendees will identify and commit to specific projects for 2012-2013 that will spread opportunity beyond the Appalachian community.
Saint Peter's College
Dates: Fall 2012
Saint Peter’s College, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. In its Best Colleges 2012 Guide, U.S. News & World Report ranked Saint Peter’s first in Campus Ethnic Diversity in the Regional Universities North division. The College was also ranked as one of the most affordable institutions in the North for Least Debt. Saint Peter’s Opportunity Nation Event will focus on the importance of cross-sector participation in the creation of opportunity.
Past Events
Tulane University
Date: March 29, 2012
In partnership with the NCAA, “Growing Opportunity” will bring together New Orleans area middle school youth and Tulane student athletes to take part in a morning of teamwork and environmental stewardship to demonstrate the importance of healthy, diverse and sustainable communities. Tulane’s Opportunity Nation event will also highlight Tulane Empowers, an acclaimed program that further enhances the university’s efforts in community engagement and public service and develops the next generation of community-minded citizens and leaders in New Orleans and beyond.
Delaware State University
Dates: March 31, 2012
Delaware State University’s Opportunity Nation event will be an impactful community service project in each of Delaware’s three counties and a project within the incorporated city limits of Wilmington, Delaware. The event will showcase DSU’s INSPIRE Scholars, students who are receiving tuition-free dollars from the state, but who are required, in turn, to give back 10 hours per semester for community service. This event is the first of its kind for DSU and for any state-funded scholarship program.
Des Moines Area Community College
Dates: January 26, 2012
On January 26, Des Moines Area Community College President Rob Denson, Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines President J. Barry Griswell, and Opportunity Nation Executive Director Mark Edwards joined Iowa Governor Terry Branstad for the public signing of the “Opportunity Iowa Proclamation and unveiling of the “Opportunity Iowa/Opportunity Nation” truck.
Otterbein University
Dates: March 9 & 10, 2012
Otterbein University hosted the first summit in Ohio on Women and the American Dream, that brought together university scholars, local women, students, community leaders, and area youth passionate about cultivating new strategies for women to succeed. Scholars, public officials, and members of the Opportunity Nation community discussed past achievements for women to gain equal opportunities, as well as ways to increase opportunity for women.
For Press Inquiries please contact Chris Cashman at media@bethechangeinc.org or 212-804-6370.