Macaulay Honors College, CUNY - Supporting Excellence 2013
Channel: MacaulayHonorsCUNY
Date: 2013-02-25

February 22, 2013

Students of color face significant challenges at American colleges today.  Led by a group of honors students who have experienced these challenges first-hand, Macaulay Honors College presents Supporting Excellence: Fulfilling CUNY's Promise of a "First-rate Education for All," the second annual conference on Supporting Excellence.  The event, open to the public, will examine the issues underrepresented students confront and will map out recommendations to augment access to top tier higher education for underrepresented groups. Macaulay Honors College alumni, CUNY faculty and other higher education experts will convene on Friday, February 22, 2013 from 8:30am to 1:30pm at Macaulay Honors College at 35 West 67th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue.

"Our goal is to bring to light issues that are taboo and left in the dark," commented Macaulay Honors College student leader Shekeima Dockery '13, who held a series of open meetings and worked closely with the Macaulay Alumni of Color Affinity group to bring the conference about.  "On many college campuses across the country, students of color too often experience a sense of isolation and are the target of micro-aggressions.  These deter students from doing their best.  Our aim is to pinpoint how institutions, and CUNY in particular, can plan to combat these problems.  We want to create change-makers."

The half-day conference, which opens with breakfast and registration, will feature a panel discussion with presentations by:

Michele Fine, Distinguished Professor of Social Psychology, Women's Studies and Urban Education at the Graduate Center, CUNY.
Vanessa Anderson, Director of Institutional Research and Evaluation at Bard High School Early College.
Eric Hoffman, University Director for Collaborative Programs at CUNY. 
Jessica Lee, Macaulay Honors College '09/MBA Candidate at New York University Stern School of Business/ Leonard Wagner Program on Ethics. Jarvis Watson, Senior Counselor/Academic Advisor for the EOP Advancement on Individual Merit Summer Bridge Program at Stony Brook University