For many higher education leaders, President Barack Obama’s first year presented a watershed moment to outline new goals and raise the visibility of postsecondary issues. Now, however, the task is to get more of these ideas out of the proposal stage and into law.
“We have a president who understands the value of education and he has put a lot of the prestige of his presidency into closing the gaps that students of color and low-income kids have faced for generations,” says Dr. Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund.
But the president has yet to make his goals of raising college graduation rates, providing more for student aid and strengthening the educational pipeline reality. “He’s had a very focused education agenda,” Lomax says. “Now we want to see this agenda move forward.”
Reflecting on the president’s first year in office, analysts see progress but also challenges. On the plus side, many leaders cited the economic stimulus bill, the K-12 Race to the Top program and House approval of an Obama-endorsed higher education bill. On the other side of the ledger, the long, heated debate over health care reform has sapped momentum on domestic policy.
Dr. Antonio Flores, president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, says he was disappointed the administration took on so many contentious issues — health care, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay — so early in its first year. He says he hopes the administration focuses on more “doable” legislative priorities to build bipartisan support and restore momentum. “The goal has to be more realistic, moving ahead one step at a time.”
In talking with education experts about the president’s first year in office, education leaders focused on these issues:
The Stimulus: While the $787 billion stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), barely cleared Congress, most analysts say it has served a significant purpose.
