Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made an impassioned plea to
hundreds of African-American college students Monday to give back to the
communities where they grew up in order to help inspire children in
neighborhoods devastated by crime and violence.
"The level of violence in places where I come from and you come from is absolutely devastating," he said to a group of about 200 students, teachers and administrators gathered in Washington, D.C., for the annual White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities conference.
"So much of this violence is 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds shooting each other," he said. "They have no sense of hope."
His pleading comes at the twilight of the Obama administration, as the president has made a major push to prepare students of color for college and career, and also provide them with additional mentoring and other support services through programs like My Brother's Keeper.
"You are all here because somebody put an arm around you, mentored you, and helped you get here," Duncan said to the college students, who are serving in a year-long ambassadorship for the White House HBCU initiative. "We have far too many kids and teenagers without adults in their lives. Please, please, please reach back."
Duncan also used his bully pulpit Monday to tout a White House proposal that he said would be a "game changer" for HBCUs – the $6 billion America's College Promise plan that would make two years of community college free.
The initiative, which needs congressional approval to become a reality, would direct about $1 billion to HBCUs over the course of 10 years.
"Virtually every single HBCU does not have the funding and resources they need," Duncan said. "This is a game changer."
During his back-to-school bus tour, Duncan made stops at five colleges and universities to talk to students and their families about college affordability and the importance of earning some type of post-secondary degree or professional credential after high school.
In an effort to emphasize the bipartisan aspect of the effort, Duncan noted Monday that the proposal was the brainchild of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee, who implemented a similar program, called Tennessee Promise.
"There is nothing political about this," Duncan said as he urged students and others there to contact their members of congress in support of the proposal. "There is nothing left or right."
Duncan's speech coincided with the administration awarding $60 million Monday to more than a dozen colleges through its First in the World grant program, which funds various initiatives aimed at helping students who are at risk for not persisting in and completing post-secondary programs.
Nine of the 17 winning applications were submitted by minority serving institutions, three of which are HBCUs.
Spelman College, for example, plans to use its $2.7 million in winnings to incorporate new teaching and learning strategies by training faculty and peer tutors on the different ways students learn. And Central Carolina Community College plans to use its $9.2 million award to partner with nine other community colleges in the Tar Heel state to put into place a student monitoring system that uses analytics to identify students as risk of getting off course academically.
"The level of violence in places where I come from and you come from is absolutely devastating," he said to a group of about 200 students, teachers and administrators gathered in Washington, D.C., for the annual White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities conference.
"So much of this violence is 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds shooting each other," he said. "They have no sense of hope."
His pleading comes at the twilight of the Obama administration, as the president has made a major push to prepare students of color for college and career, and also provide them with additional mentoring and other support services through programs like My Brother's Keeper.
"You are all here because somebody put an arm around you, mentored you, and helped you get here," Duncan said to the college students, who are serving in a year-long ambassadorship for the White House HBCU initiative. "We have far too many kids and teenagers without adults in their lives. Please, please, please reach back."
Duncan also used his bully pulpit Monday to tout a White House proposal that he said would be a "game changer" for HBCUs – the $6 billion America's College Promise plan that would make two years of community college free.
The initiative, which needs congressional approval to become a reality, would direct about $1 billion to HBCUs over the course of 10 years.
"Virtually every single HBCU does not have the funding and resources they need," Duncan said. "This is a game changer."
During his back-to-school bus tour, Duncan made stops at five colleges and universities to talk to students and their families about college affordability and the importance of earning some type of post-secondary degree or professional credential after high school.
In an effort to emphasize the bipartisan aspect of the effort, Duncan noted Monday that the proposal was the brainchild of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee, who implemented a similar program, called Tennessee Promise.
"There is nothing political about this," Duncan said as he urged students and others there to contact their members of congress in support of the proposal. "There is nothing left or right."
Duncan's speech coincided with the administration awarding $60 million Monday to more than a dozen colleges through its First in the World grant program, which funds various initiatives aimed at helping students who are at risk for not persisting in and completing post-secondary programs.
Nine of the 17 winning applications were submitted by minority serving institutions, three of which are HBCUs.
Spelman College, for example, plans to use its $2.7 million in winnings to incorporate new teaching and learning strategies by training faculty and peer tutors on the different ways students learn. And Central Carolina Community College plans to use its $9.2 million award to partner with nine other community colleges in the Tar Heel state to put into place a student monitoring system that uses analytics to identify students as risk of getting off course academically.
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