Barnard College and Let's Get Ready
invite you to join a conversation about
equity and opportunity in education.
Featuring: Debora Spar President of Barnard College
Anthony Marx President of the NY Public Library, Former President of Amherst College
Moderator: Dr. James Peterson Professor, Lehigh University
The Challenge of College Access and Success
Thursday, February 2, 2012
at Barnard College
"Despite dramatic economic and Despite dramatic economic changes and substantial investments in education over the last 40 years, the percentage of Americans with a postsecondary degree is only modestly higher than it was in 1970. The earnings gap and employment gap, however, between those who have completed postsecondary training and those who have not are substantially wider." -U.S. Department of Education, March 2011
Barnard College and Let’s Get Ready invite you to join a conversation about equity and opportunity in education featuring Debora Spar (President of Barnard College) and Anthony Marx (President of the New York Public Library and former President of Amherst College). The discussion will focus on what can be done to overcome barriers to college completion at a time when education in the US is lagging behind that of other countries and the economic benefits of a college degree are rising.
The evening will particularly focus the conversation on the challenges faced by low-income and under-represented students in reaching, succeeding in, and graduating from college. While over 70% of high school graduates pursue postsecondary education, less than half of those students actually get a degree or certificate within six years. This is a national crisis, one which has prompted President Obama to issue the College Completion Agenda with the goal that by 2020 America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.
