APLU Kicks off 2016 Commission on Access, Diversity and Excellence Summer Meeting

New York, NY — The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) today kicked off its Commission on Access, Diversity and Excellence (CADE) 2016 CADE Summer Meeting, which the State University of New York (SUNY) is hosting at its SUNY World Center in midtown Manhattan and runs through July 29.

The meeting is bringing together public university leaders from across the country, including university presidents, provosts, chief diversity officers, student affairs professionals, and enrollment managers, to strengthen a network of institutions committed to implementing an action-oriented agenda to expand access and improve outcomes for a diverse student population, with a particular focus on those who are underrepresented. The theme for this year’s convening is Diverse State of Mind: (re)Thinking Institutional Excellence and Educational Diversity for Leadership in the 21st Century.

“The 2016 CADE Summer Meeting will offer effective models and appropriate strategies of faculty and institutional diversity to be considered for use across institutions,” said RoSusan D. Bartee, APLU Interim Vice President for Access and Success. “Such approaches ensure opportunities for engagement and responsiveness of campus needs. We must constantly explore what needs exist, how we respond to interactions, and how we may encourage social justice, equity, and equality on our campuses.”

The summer meeting will feature keynote speakers and plenary session presenters including Ron Jones (Diversity Dialogues), Alexander N. Cartwright (SUNY), Carmen Suarez (Portland State University), Menah Platt-Young (Virginia Tech), Robert J. Jones, (SUNY Albany), Steven Jones (Jones & Associates, Inc.), Paulette Dilworth (UAB), J. Keith Motley, (U Mass Boston), Caroline Turner (CSU Sacramento), Dennis Rahiim Watson (The Center for Black Student Achievement), Taffye Benson Clayton (UNC), Michael Goh (University of Minnesota), William Mendoza (White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education) and Georgianna Melendez (UMass Boston).

“We hope to add to the discussion of diversity and inclusion to ensure that our university programs and our leadership promote institutional excellence both in minority-serving institutions and those grappling with shifting demography and populations,” said Carlos N. Medina, vice chancellor and chief diversity officer of SUNY and summer meeting host site leader. “We further hope the summer meeting will enable our network of public research and land-grant institutions, state university systems and others to be forward thinking in developing policies that strengthen the value of public higher education and the students they serve.”

The 2016 CADE Summer Meeting is generously supported by the State University of New York (Gold) and Lumina Foundation (Silver).