Executive Director’s Note

Hi everyone, I’m turning over the microphone to the Powered by Publics team while out on maternity leave. This month’s Executive Director’s note is authored by Alcione Frederick. Enjoy! – Julia Michaels, Executive Director and Associate Vice President, Center for Public University Transformation.

By Alcione Frederick

Alcione Frederick is an Assistant Director in APLU’s Center for Public University Transformation.

We are thrilled to announce a new opportunity for Powered by Publics institutions to advance Powered by Publics’ first strategic priority – taking explicit action to pursue educational equity for low-income, first-generation, and students of color. This opportunity was intentionally designed to provide member institutions the space and the place to collaborate with regional member universities on efforts to include student voices in improving student success.

Having students’ experiences reflected through institutional policies and procedures is key to this work. That’s why today we’re launching an application for institutions in Powered by Publics and members of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities to participate in roundtable discussions to advance equitable access and success for underserved students in higher education. The roundtables will engage a diverse group of university leaders, adult students of color, transfer students, current students from marginalized populations, and alumni to engage in candid conversations about systemic barriers that contribute to inequitable outcomes, and strategies to overcome such obstacles for all students, particularly those from marginalized populations. This initiative is supported through funding from Lumina Foundation. View the full application to participate here.

[Have a burning student success question? Want to share a pioneering program others might be interested in learning about? Want to connect with colleagues in other clusters? Sign up for the Powered by Publics Learning Exchange]

We’re seeking up to 20 institutions to participate in regional equity roundtables that will focus on the inclusion of student voices in institutional policies and practices; provide a forum for candid discussions of equitable and inequitable policies and practices; and create a vehicle to develop and disseminate promising strategies that eliminate barriers to the success for marginalized students on their academic journey.

Each roundtable will consist of teams from five institutions in the same (or a similar) geographic region and will be scheduled during June – August of 2022. The roundtables will take a comprehensive approach, tackling the issues of equitable access, equitable student success, and equitable career pathways. The roundtables can be held either in-person or virtually. For in-person roundtables, we are seeking one institution per roundtable willing to host. Host institutions will receive an award to cover the cost of food and/or logistics as necessary.