Tuesday, February 10, 2004

MEMORANDUM



To: Wilmington Area Media

From: Mimi Cunningham



Increasing access to post-secondary education will be the focus of education practitioners, business and community leaders, government officials and policy makers gathering this week at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside.

The 2004 North Carolina College Access Conference is Wednesday, Feb. 11 through Friday, Feb. 13. J.B. Buxton, senior education advisor to Gov. Mike Easley; Nolo Martinez, director of Hispanic/Latino Affairs for the state of North Carolina; and Sally Stroup, assistant secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education from the U.S. Department of Education, are among the presenters.

This conference is designed to provide information and resources regarding increasing access to post-secondary education. A range of concurrent sessions will be offered which include practical, hands-on workshops and theoretical, research-based presentations to address topics and issues of critical importance to schools, institutions of higher education, nonprofit agencies. Students from across the state will be attending theYouth Summit for College Access Pilot, which is being held in conjunction with the conference.

Details of the conference may be accessed at http://216.197.111.184/cacrao/nc_access_conference.pdf. For more information about the conference, contact Kelly M. Harrell, public affairs associate for the UNC Office of the President, 919/218-1929.