Ed Trust Speaker Series: Connecting Research to Policy to Advance Educational Equity P-20

This speaker series will raise important dialogues between scholars, researchers, policymakers, and advocates to address pertinent P-20 topics. Too often, these groups operate in silos. To bridge communities, Ed Trust is facilitating conversations that can better inform policies and research, especially for Black and Latino students and students low-income backgrounds.

Our first session delves deep into the role of race and ethnicity in college admissions after the SCOTUS decision that struck down affirmative action and explores strategies for increasing Black and Latino college enrollment in this new racial climate.

Stay tuned for our P-12 spring session, which will shed light on the pivotal roles that teachers, school counselors, parents and families can play in ensuring that students have the necessary tools for college success in a post-affirmative action world.

FIRST CONVERSATION

Date:  Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 2:00 pm ET

Moderator: 

• Jinann Bitar, Director of Higher Education Research & Data Analytics

Panelists:

Roberto Montoya, Ph.D., Associate Vice President of Partner Success-Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Inside Track

DeMarcus Jenkins, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Social Policy & Practice, UPenn

Description:

Bridging the Gap – Race and Access to Education in P-20 Schools

The recent Supreme Court ban on race-conscious practices in college admissions has sparked a heated debate about the role of diversity in higher education. However, the research is clear that our nation’s colleges – especially our most selective – are not diverse. A report from 2020 showed that selective colleges are still not reflecting the ethnic diversity of our nation. Specifically, the enrollment of Black students has decreased in 6 out of 10 selective public colleges since 2000. Shockingly, only 9% of these schools have a fair representation of Black students, and just 14% mirror Latino demographics. None of our nation’s Ivy League colleges had enough Black students to be considered representative. This data highlights the urgent need to rethink admission strategies and better recognize the contributions of communities of color and low-income communities nationwide.

In this candid conversation, Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Montoya will share their thoughts about the importance of fair representation on college campuses, what the research says needs to be done to improve the admission process, what policies should be implemented now that Affirmative Action has been struck down, and how to support underserved students once they arrive on campus.