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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Harris and Wood Represent SDSU at White House Webinar

white house
Dr. Frank Harris III and Dr. J. Luke Wood represented both San Diego State and the College of Education at a White House-sponsored webinar aimed at developing strategies for recruiting and retaining African American men through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) degrees in community colleges.

Drs. Harris III and Wood, both Professors in the SDSU College of Education, also serve as co-Directors for the Minority Male Community College Collaborative (M2C3). The Collaborative works to enhance access, achievement, and success among minority male community college students. M2C3’s research and practice agenda prioritizes men who have been traditionally underrepresented and underserved in postsecondary education.

Both were given the opportunity to serve as panelists for the webinar, which took place on December 8th. In addition to the development of strategies for retaining minority students at the community college level, the webinar also addressed current federal policies in place to provide equal access to the separate STEM fields.

The event was sponsored by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, which serves to identify evidence-based practices that improve African American student achievement, and developing a national network that shares these best practices. Harris III and Wood were able to use their experience with M2C3 to contribute to the panel discussion and work towards improving outcomes for African American students.

“Luke and I are humbled and honored to represent our university on these and other important national initiatives,” Harris III said in an email to the College. “We look forward to doing more good work that reflects SDSU positively in the new year.”

Congratulations to Dr. Harris III and Dr. Wood on a successful webinar and for representing the College and University on one of the nation’s largest stages for educational reform.