IHEP Visit

Yesterday we made the trek to DC to visit the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP). With a group of only 15 individuals, it is amazing how much they can get accomplished. We were able to meet with several of their employees, including IHEP's President, that provide research to both state and federal policy makers as well as work on projects to help underrepresented and underprivileged students attend and succeed in higher education. Especially interesting was their work in the Walmart Minority Student Success Initiative. I had not heard of corporation like Walmart taking part in such an important educational endeavor like this before and their $4.2 million contribution is certainly a well-respecting effort. I am also very interested to see what becomes of the project that IHEP has teamed up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina, and Ford for, which will be launching in a few months. There are certainly fantastic efforts being made by this organization and although the frustration of slow change was addressed, it is so important to have organizations like this campaigning for students who may not have the voice to campaign for themselves.