Clemson national conference to focus on black student achievement
January 26, 2010
CLEMSON, SC – January 22, 2010 – Clemson University’s Eighth National Conference on Best Practices in Black Student Achievement will feature Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. She is the first African-American and the first woman to serve in this position.
The conference will begin Sunday and run through Tuesday at the Madren Conference Center. It will focus on methods for recruiting, retaining and graduating black students.
Wheelan will deliver the keynote address Monday at 6:30 p.m. Her career spans 35 years and includes positions as a faculty member, chief student services officer, college provost, college president and secretary of education. In several of those roles, she was the first African-American and/or first woman to serve.
“The conference consistently provides insight into many of the complex issues colleges and universities face in their efforts to meet the educational needs of diverse student populations,” said Leon Wiles, chief diversity officer at Clemson. “It also provides a forum for a discussion of the best practices in the recruitment, retention and graduation of African-American students.”
Other keynote speakers include Camille Zubrinksy Charles, the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor in the Social Sciences and a professor of sociology and education at the University of Pennsylvania; Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark.; and Daryl G. Smith, professor of education and psychology at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif.
The Best Practices in Black Student Achievement Conference began in 2003 as part of Clemson’s celebration of its 40th anniversary of desegregation. The conference was established to bring together experts in preparation, retention, mentoring and other programs aimed at improving black student achievement. For the conference schedule go to www.clemson.edu/administration/diversityoffice/bestpractices.
