alabama possible from the alabama poverty project

Matt Okarmus

September 9, 2010

Montgomery Advertiser

Higher education leaders from throughout the state will gather at Auburn University Montgomery for the Lifetime of Learning Summit. The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17 at the Taylor Center.

According to an AUM press release, the conference will discuss ways to empower Alabama’s colleges and universities to partner with their communities to eliminate poverty. The annual conference of the Alabama Poverty Project’s Higher Education Alliance will focus on making college more accessible, student retention and service learning.

“By 2018, nearly two-thirds of available jobs will require some form of higher education,” said Kristina Scott, executive director of the Alabama Poverty Project, in the release. “But Alabama lags behind the nation in getting our young people to college. Increasing college access and student retention will increase our state’s ability to attract economic development and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, college graduates bring nearly $1 million in spending power back to their local communities.”

The release states the conference will include sessions on implementing community service into the college curriculum, mentoring at-risk youth, how to make college more accessible for low-income families and more.

Keynote speakers will include founding director of the Office of Service-Learning at Tulane University Barbara Moely, senior advisor for the United Nations World Food Programme Douglass Coutts and project administrator for the Governor’s Commission on Quality Teaching Tony Thacker.

Registration is available online at http://alabamapossible.org/registration and for more information, call the Alabama Poverty Project at 205-939-1408 or visit www.alabamapossible.org.