APLU Thanks U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for Meeting with Public University Presidents and Chancellors

Washington, DC— Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) President Peter McPherson today released the following statement regarding U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s meeting with him and 11 public university presidents and chancellors from across the country. The university leaders are all members of the APLU Board of Directors, which has its annual winter meeting beginning tonight.

“APLU thanks Secretary DeVos for taking the time to meet with public university leaders today to discuss key issues affecting our institutions, students, and faculty. We had a very productive meeting during which we engaged in a substantive conversation covering a variety of topics.

“We appreciate that Secretary DeVos recognizes the role public universities play in driving progress in society through their education, research, and community engagement efforts.

“Among other topics, we discussed ways the Department of Education can work with public universities to help increase access and affordability, boost degree completion, improve transparency and accountability, better prepare students to enter and succeed in the workforce, and streamline and lift needlessly burdensome regulations. Secretary DeVos made it clear she views today’s meeting as the beginning of an ongoing dialogue with public university leaders and we look forward to building on today’s meeting as well.”

Below is the list of public university leaders who attended the meeting with Secretary DeVos:

• Mark Becker, President, Georgia State University
• Angel Cabrera, President, George Mason University
• Robert Caret, Chancellor, University of Maryland System
• Waded Cruzado, President, Montana State University
• Mildred Garcia, President, California State University, Fullerton
• Bernadette Gray-Little, Chancellor, University of Kansas
• Ronnie Green, Chancellor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Mark Rosenberg, President, Florida International University
• Kirk Schulz, President, Washington State University
• Teresa Sullivan, President, University of Virginia
• Satish Tripathi, President, University at Buffalo, SUNY