President Obama
When it is all said and done, what will President Obama’s college diversity legacy look like?
More people of color in college leadership positions
Though he has not introduced any official legislation that demands more people of color in leadership spots, the president’s mere presence in the nation’s highest position has paved the way for others to step up in their own industries. I predict a steep rise in minority faculty members, deans and college presidents in the coming decade due indirectly to the example set by this president. His push for more minority graduates will also mean more minority college leaders being fed into university systems.
More minorities graduating from college
The rate of students entering colleges across the nation was already at a record high when President Obama took office, but so was college debt. Between unchecked student loan interest rates and for-profit universities recruiting non-traditional and minority students without the right support programs in place for those students to graduate, the college landscape had become ineffective for many of the nation’s students. In his tenure, President Obama has worked hard to make the cost of college more affordable, through more federal Pell Grants and more federally backed student loans, as well as loan repayment programs that offer caps on income or loan forgiveness clauses. This has helped all students, but an argument can be made that making college more affordable will prove a long-term improvement when it comes to minority graduates who were deterred by the high cost in the first place.
Specifically, President Obama has put minority-friendly programs in place, such as My Brother’s Keeper, that address the specific problems that particular groups face when it comes to obtaining an education. He has also made K-12 schools more accountable for getting their students college ready with federally funded incentives, such as Race to the Top, which focuses on closing the achievement gap between White and minority students. In order to feed colleges more minority students who are ready for the tasks, the grades that come before the college years must be considered — and the president seems to get that, and to have a good grasp of the bigger picture of what a college education means for minorities.
