UA Education Policy Center to Host Higher Education Funding Forum

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama College of Education will host the president of the Southern Regional Education Board during a forum in which post-recession higher education improvements will be discussed.

David Spence, who has served as president of the SREB since 2005, will be the featured speaker for “After the Recession: Higher Education Access and Finance in the South” on Friday, Nov. 8 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Graves Hall, room 102. Other guest panelists will be announced later this week. The forum is open to the public, who may ask questions of the panelists.

Organizers ask that those who plan to attend RSVP at edpolicycenter@bamaed.ua.edu. A reception will follow the forum at 4 p.m.

Topics to be discussed at the forum include the policies and practices needed to create a “college going” ethic among students and families, what can be done to ameliorate rising tuition costs and “sticker shock” among parents and students, and business and industry’s investment in education.

“Education is a cornerstone of economic opportunity,” said Spence. “The economic future of the South is dependent on states continuing to narrow the gap between receiving a high-school diploma and actually being ready to succeed at a postsecondary institution, as well as the development of programs to increase the completion rate for those attending a college or university.”

The SREB represents 16 member states, including Alabama, by consulting with governors, state legislators, state K-12 and higher education leaders and overseeing many initiatives designed to improve education in each state. Spence has led one of the nation’s foremost efforts to work with states in establishing statewide college readiness policies and several special initiatives aimed at increasing the percentage of state populations with a postsecondary certificate or degree.

From 1998 to 2005, Spence was executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer of the California State University System, where he led California’s Early Assessment Program to help more high-school students prepare for postsecondary education.