Press Release

Contact: Debra Humphreys
Vice President for Communications
and Public Affairs
202.387-3760 ext. 422
humphreys@aacu.org

Program for Health and Higher Education Selects 11 Colleges and Universities to Form New National Network and Present on Student-Initiated Health Projects at Upcoming Symposium

Third Sumner Symposium Will Highlight Student Involvement in Addressing Health Challenges on Campus, in the Community, and Around the World

Washington, DC—February 1, 2004—The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) recently announced the names of eleven colleges and universities selected to participate in a new student health initiative as part of its Program for Health and Higher Education (PHHE). Selected colleges and universities will send teams of students and faculty to participate in AAC&U’s third Sumner Symposium, a two-day meeting of students, teachers, college administrators, researchers, and elected officials scheduled for April 26-27, 2004 in Washington, DC.

The following colleges and universities were selected in a competitive process to send teams to the 2004 Sumner Symposium:

Bergen Community College (NJ)
California State University, Chico (CA)
Georgetown University (DC)
Georgia College and State University (GA)
Goucher College (MD)
Livingstone College (NC)
Oregon State University (OR)
Seattle Pacific University (WA)
University of Kansas (KS)
Winston-Salem State University (NC)
Wofford College (SC)

These schools will also become a part of the new Sumner National Network. The Sumner Symposia and National Network explore how the power and capacity of students can be linked and integrated with other institutional efforts to solve pressing health problems on campus and in communities. Participants in the 2004 Symposium will share and exchange strategies that nurture the leadership and power of students to positively affect pressing campus and community health problems, including HIV/AIDS. Institutions chosen to participate will send a team of two to four representatives, at least half of whom will be students, to the Symposium and will present posters at a special presentation on Capitol Hill.

“We were extremely impressed with the ways in which college students at these campuses are proactively responding to profound health challenges on their own campuses, in their communities, and around the world,” said PHHE Senior Policy Director David Burns. “The energy and commitment of the students involved in these projects gives one hope for the future health of our nation and the world.”

This initiative is part of AAC&U’s Program on Health and Higher Education (PHHE). PHHE provides leadership, through a coordinated set of activities, to enable American colleges and universities to improve both the education and the health of undergraduate students by integrating issues of HIV and other complex health issues into the curriculum.

PHHE is funded by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health in Atlanta, Georgia.

For information about the Sumner Symposium, Network or other PHHE activities, meetings or publications, see www.aacu.org/phhe.

AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 1,150 accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.

AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators, and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.

Information about AAC&U membership, programs, and publications can be found on the AAC&U Web site.