In the third of a series of four outreach events to high-achieving underrepresented minority junior and senior high school students, President Mary Sue Coleman stressed the importance of higher education. She also encouraged the college-bound young people to make U-M their goal for pursuing an education.
“Sometimes the road to education is a difficult one to travel. The door may seem closed, and just too tough to open. But with hard work, all students can and must look to education beyond high school,” Coleman told the group of nearly 100 students and their parents, who braved the year’s first major snow storm to gather for an Access to Higher Education community dialogue Jan. 6 at Brown-Hutcherson Ministries in Grand Rapids.
Coleman met with students just hours after members of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative filed petitions to have a statewide proposal ending affirmative action placed on the 2006 ballot. The group led by Ward Connerly of California tried unsuccessfully to get the issue on the 2004 ballot. Coleman said she is hopeful Michigan citizens will recognize that passage of the proposal would not be in the best interests of the state.
“If passed, I believe this proposal would close doors in every public college and university in the state,” Coleman said in the session that focused on access to education.
“It would close the door to programs that encourage young women to study science, math, engineering and business. It would close the door to programs that encourage underrepresented minority students to seek the highest possible academic achievements. And it would close the door to resources, including many forms of financial aid for college, to these same groups—women and minorities alike.
“We firmly believe diversity is essential to a robust and successful education. America must have leaders who are prepared to guide us through our increasingly diverse and global future.”
Coleman told the group about the state’s goal to make certain all Michigan students are encouraged from a very young age to pursue a college degree, as articulated in the recent Lt. Governor’s Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth report. The president served on the commission, which was charged with assessing the state’s educational system and recommending strategies for achieving Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s goal of doubling the number of state residents who obtain college degrees and other credentials during the next 10 years. The availability of financial aid is key to meeting this goal, Coleman said.
“Albert Einstein once said of himself, ‘I have no special gifts. I am just passionately curious.’ The University of Michigan is anxious to help all our students open the door to their intellectual passions and curiosity,” she said.
Coleman already has met with students from 10 counties in southeast and central Michigan in a session held in Novi. She also visited Kalamazoo. She has one more prospective student outreach event coming up on Jan 16 at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit, where hundreds of students are invited to participate in “Wolverine Day at Hartford.”
