Media Alert

Contact:
Debra Humphreys, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs
humphreys@aacu.org
202-387-3760, ext. 422

Public Forum Featuring Governor Herbert and Other Utah Leaders To Address Improving Utah College Learning

Washington, DC—April 7, 2010—On April 14, 2010, a public forum, Raising the Bar, will be held in Salt Lake City to address ways to better prepare Utah students for success in work, life, and responsible citizenship.  Co-sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the Salt Lake Chamber, and the Utah System of Higher Education, this statewide leadership forum will promote dialogue among key Utah stakeholders about the learning Utah students need to meet 21st century challenges and is designed to focus public and campus attention, not just on access to college, but on the broad learning and transferable skills all students need from both school and college. 

Speakers include:

Honorable Gary Herbert, Governor of the State of Utah

Carol Geary Schneider, President, Association of American Colleges and Universities

Lane Beattie, President, Salt Lake Chamber

William Sederburg, Commissioner, Utah System of Higher Education

Richard Kendell, former Commissioner and Superintendent of Davis School District

Larry Shumway, Utah Superintendent of Schools

Holly McKiernan, Senior Vice President, Lumina Foundation for Education

The event will focus both on the important learning outcomes all students need to be prepared for success in the competitive global economy and on the need for new connections across educational sectors.  Through this forum and follow-up activities, the co-sponsors will identify ways to collaborate across divides to advance higher levels of student achievement throughout K-16 education.

This event is organized as part of AAC&U’s initiative, Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP): Excellence for Everyone as a Nation Goes to College.  Utah is the fifth partner state in the national LEAP initiative.  LEAP is an initiative that champions the value of a liberal education—for individual students and for a nation dependent on economic creativity and democratic vitality. The initiative focuses campus practice on fostering essential learning outcomes for all students, whatever their chosen field of study. LEAP seeks to engage the public with core questions about what really matters in college, to give students a compass to guide their learning, and to make a set of essential learning outcomes the preferred framework for educational excellence, assessment of learning, and new alignments between school and college.

As Commissioner Sederburg noted in the original news release announcing LEAP Utah, “If we, as a state, are serious about being a player in the global marketplace, our learning outcomes in higher education must align to sustainable, high value business initiatives. We are excited to be one of five LEAP partner-states working to improve student learning to better prepare all Utah students for responsible citizenship and for all of life’s challenges. We also look forward to bringing together policy, education, and business leaders to build a shared understanding of the kinds of learning we need for economic development in the state and for the sustained health of our communities.”

Representatives of the media are welcome to attend all events in the public forum, but must register to do so.  Please contact Debra Humphreys at humphreys@aacu.org to register to attend.

About the Co-Sponsors

The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education.  AAC&U represents the entire spectrum of American colleges and universities—large and small, public and private, two-year and four-year.  AAC&U comprises 1,200 accredited colleges and universities that collectively educate more than five million students every year.

The Salt Lake Chamber is Utah’s largest statewide business association and Utah’s business leader.  With roots that date back to 1887, the Chamber has been standing as the voice of business, supporting its members’ success and championing community prosperity for over 100 years.  The Chamber represents 5,300 businesses statewide and one in every three jobs in the Utah economy. Chamber strategic partners include the Downtown Alliance and World Trade Center Utah.

The Utah System of Higher Education consists of nine public colleges and universities governed by the Utah State Board of Regents, assisted by institutional Boards of Trustees.  The system includes two major research/teaching universities, three metropolitan/regional universities, one state college, and three community colleges. The regents’ three strategic goals for Utah higher education are participation, completion, and economic development.