Media Contact:
Felicia Horton
(773) 821-4976
f-horton@csu.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis Presents Public Policy Forum at CSU
Forum to Address the Decline of African-American Males in Higher Education
CHICAGO (NOVEMBER 11, 2008) – U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL) will present a public policy forum, State of the State: Higher Education and the African-American Male, on Thursday, November 13, 2008 at noon in Chicago State University’s Academic Library.
This event is in conjunction with a recent $1,084,211 two-year grant awarded to CSU under the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Minority-Serving Institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions Program.
“It is my intention that this public policy forum will create dialogue within the community where the issues of the lack of African-American males in higher education are strongly considered and results in recommended changes in higher education policy and practice,” said Congressman Davis, a graduate of CSU. “Solutions to this problem will not only help this group of young men, but the community and the city of Chicago in its entirety.”
The grant will fund activities that will strengthen the university’s ability to improve the educational outcomes of African-American males.
“Continuing in its efforts to address low college attendance and persistence among underserved populations, Chicago State University will begin a two-year project to strengthen the institution’s ability to address lower representation of African-American males in higher education,” said Dr. Anitra J. Ward, CSU associate provost and principal investigator.
This grant project has three goals:
1) To increase the number and persistence of African-American males at Chicago State University by providing an environment that emphasizes leadership, academic and positive male development through shared experiences;
2) To create a university setting where African-American males can flourish with encouragement, develop and cultivate positive expectations, and be guided and retained toward timely degree completion; and
3) To conduct research and assessment activities to identify risk factors, barriers, and intervention measures that can negatively affect black males in higher education, and disseminate best practices.
“It is our hope that when grant funds are exhausted and the program is institutionalized, the results will be a comprehensive strategy for improving enrollment, persistence, and graduation rates of this particular student population,” said Ward.
This event is open to the public. Chicago State University is located at 9501 S. King Drive. For more information, please call (773) 995-3822.
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ABOUT CHICAGO STATE
Chicago State University was founded as a teacher training school in Blue Island, Illinois on September 2, 1867. Today, the university is a fully accredited public, urban institution located on 161-picturesque acres in a residential community on Chicago’s Southside. CSU is governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor of Illinois. The university’s five colleges—Health Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Pharmacy—offer 36 undergraduate and 25 graduate and professional degree-granting programs. CSU also offers an interdisciplinary Honors College for students in all areas of study and has a Division of Continuing Education and Non-Traditional Programs that offers extension courses, distance learning and not-for-credit programs to the entire Chicago community.