College presidents from predominantly black institutions across the country gathered in the nation’s capital Monday for a conference commemorating National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week.
The two-day conference, titled “HBCUs: Engaging the World Anew,” began just days after President Barack Obama signed a proclamation making official the designation for the week of September 18-24.
It’s part of a White House effort to promote the president’s goal of creating the best-educated and most competitive and diverse workforce in the world by 2020, the White House said in a written statement.
In February 2010, Obama signed an executive order renewing an initiative on historically black colleges and universities, establishing a presidential board to advise the White House on matters pertaining to strengthening the educational capacity of these institutions.
John Wilson, executive director of the White House initiative, opened Monday’s conference, which features a variety of panel discussions, break-out sessions and speeches. They will focus on minority presence in the workforce, technology and innovation, and working with small businesses and developing partnerships.
Wilson was followed by a senior adviser to the president, Valerie Jarrett, who discussed the importance of the historically black institutions to the president’s education agenda.
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