Westminster College President at White House Today

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Richard Dorman, president of Westminster College, is visiting President Barack Obama and his wife and Vice President Joe Biden along with hundreds of other college presidents and leaders in higher eduction to announce new actions intended to help more students prepare for and graduate from college.

The White House College Opportunity Day of Action helps to support the president’s commitment to partner with colleges and universities, business leaders, and nonprofits to support students across the country to help our nation reach its goal of leading the world in college attainment. 

Westminster College aims to increase by 53% the number of STEM teachers from Westminster College in high-need secondary schools in western Pennsylvania in five years. “Westminster College is committed to the success of students in STEM disciplines, especially women and other minorities,” Dorman noted. “For example, 46% of the college’s STEM faculty members are women, providing models for female students who may not otherwise see career paths in STEM. Also, the college supports strong students who are interested in teaching STEM curricula in nearby high-need, low-income high schools. Such support comes through close mentoring and research opportunities with STEM faculty, along with scholarship aid provided through a recently-awarded $1 million National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant.”

Participants at today's event were asked to commit to new action in one of four areas: Building networks of colleges around promoting completion, creating K-16 partnerships around college readiness, investing in high school counselors as part of the First Lady’s Reach Higher initiative, and increasing the number of college graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

Today’s event is the second College Opportunity Day of Action and includes a progress report on the commitments made at the first day of action on Jan. 14.

Also participating in the White House conference is Dr. Laura Meeks, president of Eastern Gateway Community College, Steubenville, Ohio (READ STORY)

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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