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Conference focuses on timely education issues

April 1, 2005

KALAMAZOO--Michigan's 15th annual "Equity in the Classroom Conference" will take place Sunday through Tuesday, April 3-5, in the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo and the Bernhard Center at Western Michigan University. The annual event focuses on achieving parity in higher education in enrollment, retention and graduation for underrepresented minority students and academically and economically disadvantaged students.

WMU is serving as host for the 2005 event, which is being sponsored by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth's King-Chavez-Parks Initiative and GEAR UP Michigan! as well as the state's 15 public universities and five private universities in the state. This year's theme is "Visualizing the World of Possibilities: Preparing Students for the Challenges of Equity and Opportunities in Higher Education."

The conference, which features informational sessions and speakers, will begin at the Radisson on Sunday, move to WMU's Bernhard Center on Monday and return to the Radisson on Tuesday.

This year's conference will address issues such as: fields of study college students are choosing and how the pattern varies by ethnic group and gender; higher education issues associated with America's impending changeover from a majority population of whites to people of color; including information in the curriculum for students of color and students who are differently-abled and gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered; successful diversity practices in the work place and programs employees value; the persistence of inequality in higher education outcomes; and the future of diversity in U.S. higher education.

For more information about the conference, download the online event brochure at <www.conference.wmich.edu>.

Media contact: Jeanne Baron, 269 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu

WMU News
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