The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE) is pleased to announce its inaugural Summit, focused on the opportunity and challenge of educating a diverse Wisconsin.
The Summit will take place on April 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Dejope Residence Hall at UW–Madison, and aims to draw participants from across the state.
The conference will feature Jamie Merisotis as keynote speaker. Merisotis is a globally recognized leader in philanthropy, education and public policy. Since 2008, he has served as president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all.
James Minor, the senior strategist for academic success and inclusive excellence at California State University, will also be a featured speaker, as will noted researchers and practitioners from colleges and universities across the state.
Speakers and panelists will discuss shifting demographics in the United States and Wisconsin and facilitate conversation on how to strengthen and enrich educational opportunities across the K-16 pipeline for traditionally underrepresented students. View the full agenda.
The purpose of this event, said WISCAPE Faculty Director Clif Conrad, a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW–Madison, is to raise awareness and develop a deeper understanding of Wisconsin’s underrepresented students and to engage in “spirited dialogue” with the goal of identifying promising ideas for enrolling, educating and graduating a diverse Wisconsin.
Pao Lor, an associate professor of education at UW-Green Bay and an alumnus of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW-Madison, is among the panelists traveling to the Summit. He explained that as a Hmong American, certain aspects of his personal life and professional career have been “driven, defined, and transformed” by his cultural identity.
Lor expressed his hope the Summit will “provide clarity” on the increasingly heterogeneous landscape of Wisconsin and promote understanding of how to ”guide, inspire, and mentor the hopes and dreams of underrepresented college students,” as well as “embrace the distinctive, cultural communities/enclaves these underrepresented college students come from.”
Registration ($25 general/$10 students) includes breakfast, lunch, and light snacks, and is available through Eventbrite.
WISCAPE is housed in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW–Madison. Its mission is to support the pursuit, sharing, and implementation of promising ideas for addressing fundamental challenges in postsecondary education in Wisconsin, the United States, and internationally.