Forum On Access And Inclusion Scheduled As Part Of 50th Anniversary Celebration At Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech will continue its 50th anniversary celebration of blacks at the university on Friday, Sept. 12, with a community forum on access and inclusion. The event, "Delivering on the Promise: Higher Education at the Crossroads," will be held in the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center auditorium beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Four panelists, all alumni of Virginia Tech, will explore the issues and challenges for increasing the percentages of people from underrepresented groups who are successfully accessing and being effectively included in higher education opportunities in the United States. They will also discuss how prevailing attitudes, which view racial, ethnic, religious, and other differences as liabilities, can be seen as assets that need to be managed more effectively.
The panelists include Linda Edmonds Turner, president of Boston Urban College; Dianne Broadley Suber, president of St. Augustine's College; Ted King, legal counsel for the Maryland legislature; and Barbara Pendergrass, former dean of students at Virginia Tech.
The event is open to the public and is free. It is part of the university's year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary since Irving L. Peddrew III enrolled as the first African American student in school history. The celebration also honors Charlie L. Yates, the first African American to graduate from Tech. Earlier in the year, the university named a residence hall in honor of the two men and their historical significance in the university's history.
For information on the Friday forum or other anniversary events, contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at (540) 231-1820.
