Public Policy Takes Center Stage at Race and Ethnicity Conference: NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – University of Maryland System Chancellor William Kirwan opened the annual National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE) characterizing stagnant educational performance as the “gravest crisis” facing our nation.“We can only keep (our competitive) edge if we continue to produce new generations of highly educated and highly motivated young people,” Kirwan said during the NCORE opening session Wednesday afternoon.
Like numerous education advocates and officials over the past year, Kirwan invoked President Barack Obama’s 2020 goal of the U.S. becoming the world’s leading nation in college degree completion. Praising the president’s vision, Kirwan said the initiative is as much about social equity as it is international competitiveness.
