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Distributed April 14, 2005
Contact Mark Nickel

Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons will lead a 90-minute briefing and host a Leadership Alliance Presidential Forum Tuesday afternoon, April 19, 2005, at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. During forum sessions after the briefing, college and university presidents will resume structured discussions about diversity trends and challenges in higher education.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons will convene a 90-minute national briefing on issues of diversity in higher education at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, 2005, at the National Academy of Sciences, 2101 C St. SW, in Washington, D.C.

The briefing, which is open to the press and the public, will provide an overview for an afternoon of private presidential conversations hosted by Simmons and the Leadership Alliance.

“In American higher education as in American society, diversity is integral to learning itself,” said Simmons. “Our task at this national forum is to consider new strategies and policies that will enhance and support varied elements of diversity on our nation’s campuses.”

Editors: Reporters are welcome to attend the briefing. Additional information on the forum, including position papers and brief biographies of participants, is available online from the Leadership Alliance.

In preparation for the Leadership Alliance Presidential Forum, college and university presidents have been reviewing papers and other study materials for one of four discussions groups. A panel of four university presidents who are leading those groups will join Simmons at the briefing:

• Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland–Baltimore County
  Preparing Undergraduate Scholars for Doctoral Training;
• Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania
  Graduate Training and the Pathway to the Academic Workforce;
• Shirley Tilghman, president of Princeton University
  The Impact of Diversity on the Academy;
• Jeffrey Lehman, president of Cornell University
  The Role of Collaborations and Networks for Diversity Enhancement.

The Leadership Alliance

Founded in 1992, the Leadership Alliance is the nation’s premiere higher education coalition dedicated to expanding the presence of underrepresented groups in academic research professions. The presidents of the 29 member colleges and universities constitute the Board of Trustees of the Leadership Alliance, which is charged with oversight and governance.

The presidents of these institutions have committed resources to identifying and implementing approaches that will help resolve the nation’s shortage of minorities with doctorates in math, science, engineering and technology.

The Leadership Alliance and its executive director Valerie Petit Wilson have national executive offices on the campus of Brown University in Providence, R.I. Member institutions include:

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