Press Release - Readout of Secretary of Education-designate Dr. Miguel Cardona's Virtual Roundtable with Higher Education Institutional Associations

Yesterday, Secretary of Education-designate Dr. Miguel Cardona met virtually with representatives of leading higher education trade associations from a range of sectors to discuss issues including pandemic recovery, access and equity, and how best to increase student success.

The higher education leaders raised the unique needs faced by Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Minority-serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities. They discussed the need to expand pathways, training programs, and resources to students — particularly low-income, first generation, and historically underrepresented students. They expressed the need for additional COVID-19 relief, and a focus on meeting students' basic needs. Other issues, including rural colleges' need for additional broadband, were raised.

Secretary-designate Cardona thanked the higher education leaders for their partnership and said, if confirmed, that he looked forward to their regular and ongoing collaboration. The Secretary-designate was joined by:

• Lezli Baskerville, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO)
• J. Noah Brown, Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)
• Walter Bumphus, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
• Alicia Diaz, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
• Mildred Garcia, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)
• Michael Lomax, United Negro College Fund
• Peter McPherson, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU)
• Barbara K. Mistick, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU)
• Ted Mitchell, American Council on Education (ACE)
• Barbara Snyder, Association of American Universities (AAU)
• Harry Williams, Thurgood Marshall College Fund