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Welcome to The EDU Ledger! We’ve moved from Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

Section: Opinion

The House Rules

Morehouse College has laid down the law. And not a moment too soon… As has been widely reported in many of the major national news outlets, the storied all-male private college, known as “Harvard of the South,” has issued a sweeping dress code for all of its 2,700 students. In case you haven’t seen it, […]

October 20, 2009

How about a Career in Fundraising for Students of Color?

Editor’s note: This blog post was co-authored by Nelson Bowman III. From time to time, I like to write with others and this week my friend Nelson Bowman III, director of development at Prairie View A & M University, had some good ideas — so we decided to write about them together. Both […]

October 19, 2009

Matching Aspirations With Values

In a report released October 7 by the Pew Hispanic Center, nearly 90 percent of Latino young adults said a college education is important for success in life. However, only about 50 percent of respondents said they planned to get a college degree. What can we take away from the findings of this representative […]

October 15, 2009

Raising Tough Questions About Enrollment Diversity

I recently delivered a keynote speech at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s 2009 Diversity Forum during which I afflicted the comfortable on the question of “excellence vs. diversity” in college and university admissions. At that speech, I encouraged a generally receptive campus community to think broadly about the declining number of Black students enrolling in colleges […]

October 15, 2009

Too Much Venom Aimed at Black Men

Last month at the MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West ambushed the stage and grabbed the microphone from singer Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for winning Best Female Video. West then launched into a contradictory rant congratulating while disparaging Swift, arguing that Best Female Video nominee Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” was “one of the best […]

October 14, 2009

Unlocking the Learning Potential

“I like you but I can’t pass you.” I’ve said something along that line to a number of students over the years and it’s been especially tough for me to say to students I am fond of. One of the things that I’ve had to deal with over the past five years has been separating […]

October 14, 2009

The Obama White House: Mired in Distraction

Why does President Barack Obama’s White House continue to be mired in distraction? Since the president took office there has been Gates Gate; the international snub in Copenhagen, Denmark, after the president flew there overnight to make a bid for Chicago to host the 2016 Summer Olympics; the call for New York Gov. David Patterson […]

October 13, 2009

Giving Back is a Matter of Surviving and Thriving for HBCUs

As I was perusing the Facebook statuses of some of my “friends” today, I came across one who posted the following: “Did you attend an HBCU? If you had a great time and appreciate all that your HBCU did to make you who you are today, then put your money where your mouth is and […]

October 12, 2009

Making My Mark

One of the most important things I learned as a journalist was to compel the reader to follow my story. One of the toughest tasks I face is to make you, the reader, care about this blog. I guess I should get to the point: I’m kind of unique. During this academic year, I will […]

October 5, 2009

No More Excuses

Leaders at institutional, local and national levels are looking for effective practices to accelerate college degree completion in the United States. Given the growth and youth of the Latino population, identifying practices with evidence of effectiveness in increasing Latinos’ educational achievement in college will be useful. However, before the creation of the Examples of Excelencia […]

October 5, 2009

The Prideful Bigotry of the Present

America’s increasing polarization along racial and ideological lines is seriously undermining democratic ideals and principles. The fringes of the political left and the political right are putting power, privilege and prejudice over civility, community and commonality. The result is a country that values acerbic rhetoric over intelligent discourse, suppression of speech over freedom of speech […]

October 4, 2009

Use Your Voice!

This week in my History of American Higher Education course, we were discussing perspective — meaning that each of the authors and articles I assign has a perspective or an inherent bias. I work hard to teach students to critically think and to realize that bias is everywhere and that it’s nearly impossible to find […]

October 1, 2009

Profiling Latinos

By 2025, 22 percent of the U.S. college-age population will be Latino, a level already exceeded in four states: California, Florida, New York, and Texas. However, today, only 7 percent of college-age Latinos (ages 18 to 24) have earned an associate degree or higher compared with 9 percent of Blacks, 16 percent of Whites, and […]

September 28, 2009

The Curious Case of Michael Steele

Let’s face it, if Barack Obama were not president of the United States, Michael Steele would not be the “chairman” of the Republican Party. Yet Steele continues to act as if race was not the sole reason that he was selected to lead The Grim Old Party. The reality is both race and tokenism played […]

September 23, 2009

Implementing the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and its Impact on Latinos

This past week the House of Representatives passed landmark legislation to overhaul student college loan programs and redirect billions in projected savings to student aid and other education programs. Among its most significant changes, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221) would eliminate the bank-based Family Federal Education Loan Program (FFELP) and make […]

September 22, 2009

Obama and Paterson: Painful Politics

The New York Times has reported that President Obama has asked New York Governor David Paterson to drop out of the 2010 governor’s race. While not exactly denying the report, a White House official said, “There are officials in the White House that share the concerns that are widely held in New York about the […]

September 21, 2009

We Should Be Realistic About Racial Representation in Television

Over the next few weeks, the American public will be introduced to many new comedies, dramas, “reality” programs and other forms of media. And of course, viewers will witness the return of many of their favorite programs. To be blunt, I do not watch an abundance of television. One reason for doing so is that […]

September 16, 2009

The Obama Presidency in Peril?

President Obama’s presidency is in peril for two primary reasons. The first, his inability to be a transformational leader to an American public hungry for it is of his own making. The second, the thinly veiled demonstration of racism unskillfully disguised as “concern for country” is both to be expected and not of his own […]

September 15, 2009