| U-M President Coleman speaks at major Detroit forum |
| By CHRONICLE STAFF REPORTS |
Published
04/9/2008
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Main News
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Mary Sue Coleman
Mary Sue Coleman
The University of Michigan’s 13th president, Mary Sue Coleman, will speak at a major educational forum hosted by the Michigan Chronicle on April 30 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
Under the theme “The Challenges of Empowering Education: Beyond Affirmative Action,” the forum commencing at 6:30pm will address key issues in higher education, including affirmative action.
Moderated by Bankole Thompson, Michigan Chronicle senior editor, the forum is billed as a historic step for a leading university to discuss educational opportunities as well as issues in higher education with the state’s largest Black publication.
Michigan Chronicle Publisher Sam Logan said the event is significant because that evening Detroit will hear directly from Coleman herself, rather than a representative.
“The Michigan Chronicle is concerned about education in our community. Having President Coleman come to us to discuss what is happening at the university is very important,” Logan said in a statement. “Part of our role here at the paper is to provide educational options for our readers.”
Coleman will talk in-depth about steps the university is taking to increase enrollment, especially among minority students, after the fall of affirmative action.
She will also discuss the ways that universities provide financial aid to students with significant need, such as converting loans to grants.
The highlight of the forum will be a Q&A session Thompson will conduct with Coleman in the GM Theater on various issues relating to how the university is responding to the social, political and economic needs of Michigan. Topics will include recent gains in research and development, the University Research Corridor, U-M admissions, the university’s Detroit Center and its work in K-12 education.
Given the effort of many educational institutions today to achieve a global niche, Coleman will also elaborate on her most recent visit to Ghana and South Africa as the university increases its presence in the global educational community.
Earlier this year, Coleman and her delegation to Ghana and South Africa discussed initiatives that can be incorporated into U-M’s newly established African Studies Center, and explored proposals that extend many longstanding projects undertaken by the more than 120 University of Michigan faculty involved in scholarship related to Africa.
“To be relevant in a world that knows no boundaries, higher education must reach far beyond its campus,” Coleman said. “Never before have we had so much to learn from other nations. Our students know this perhaps better than anyone, and they look to the university to take advantage of its global connections to expose them to a broad, international perspective.”
In July, the university will launch its African Studies Center “to enrich and provide additional impetus for teaching and research related to Africa. The center will do outreach, host programs and events and serve as a focal point for U-M faculty and students engaged in scholarly work in and about Africa.”
A biochemist who served as president of the University of Iowa for seven years before coming to U-M in 2002, Coleman’s presidency at U-M weathered one of the strongest assaults on empowering education, the battle against affirmative action.
Seating is limited. Please RSVP at 313.237.6209 or 734.936.5190.
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