Special to 1808Delaware
New initiatives at Ohio Wesleyan University helped attract record numbers of minority and first-generation students this fall, while more students are succeeding and progressing toward graduation. Now, OWU President Matt vandenBerg has been invited to discuss the university’s innovations at a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) forum in New York.
vandenBerg, Ed.D., will participate on a panel Sept. 24 discussing “Accessibility and the Redefinition of Student Success in Postsecondary Education.”
The presentation is part of UNGA 2024, Inclusion for All: From Learning to Leading. Top experts at the forum will explore how inclusive practices in K-12, higher education, and the workplace can unlock the full potential of every individual, leading to more innovative, resilient, and successful organizations and economies.
One-third of Ohio Wesleyan’s new first-year class are students of color. And 38% are first-generation students.
Earlier this year, Ohio Wesleyan secured innovative partnerships with Columbus State Community College to make a bachelor’s degree more accessible, allowing many of the community college’s graduates to attend OWU for the same tuition price as Columbus State. A new partnership with Claflin University, a Historically Black University in South Carolina, has launched with plans for student exchanges.
In addition, investments in people and academic support programs for first-generation and other students have led to substantial increases in first-to-second-year retention at the university, now about 85%.
“We have set out to become a premier destination in the U.S. for first-generation college students,” said vandenBerg. “Ohio Wesleyan is a place where students will find access to higher education, find their path, find success, find belonging, and transform themselves.”
The panel at the forum also will include Ana Homayoun, founder and CEO of Green Ivy Educational Consulting LLC, and Tom Looney, chair of the State Board of North Carolina Community Colleges. The moderator will be Gus Schmedlen, chief revenue officer at Texthelp.
Other scheduled speakers at the forum include David Banks, chancellor of New York City Public Schools; Mary Davis, CEO of Special Olympics; Glenna Wright-Gallo, U.S. assistant secretary of education; and Rebecca Winthrop, director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution.
UNGA 2024 will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon Sept. 24 at L’Avenue at Saks, 8 E. 50th St. in New York.
Photo: Ohio Wesleyan President Matt vandenBerg will participate in a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) forum Sept. 24 in New York. The panel will discuss student success in postsecondary education. (Photo by Paul Vernon)
Source, Photo: OWU
