U.S. Department of Education Officials Visit UM Today

Ole Miss part of ‘Opportunity Across America’ back-to-school bus tour 

OXFORD, Miss. – Senior officials with the U.S. Department of Education will travel Thursday (Sept. 15) to the University of Mississippi as part of the seventh annual back-to-school bus tour to celebrate progress in communities and states across the country.

The Department of Education officials coming to UM include Ted Mitchell, under secretary of education; Kim Hunter Reed, deputy under secretary of education; Jaye Espy, chief of staff for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities; and Elyse Jones, confidential assistant to White House Initiatives on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The visit to UM will focus on diversity and inclusion on college campuses.

There will be a roundtable discussion featuring Ole Miss students at 9:30 a.m. in Room 200 of the Lyceum. Brandi Hephner LaBanc, vice chancellor for student affairs, will moderate the discussion.

Following the discussion, Mitchell and Reed will be available to meet with members of the media from 10:40 to 11 a.m. at the Lyceum.

Several senior department officials are holding events around the country this week touting the administration’s key initiatives over eight years, highlighting the progress made to expand opportunity across the nation and the groundwork laid for continued momentum.

The tour began Monday in the nation’s capital and will end in Friday in Louisiana.

President Barack Obama entered office in 2009 with a comprehensive vision for improving our education system to advance children’s opportunity and success. That vision included efforts to address the dropout crisis, improve student achievement and increase graduation rates; expand equity in education through stronger schools; ensure all students achieve high standards that prepare them for college and career; and grow innovation and investment in what works, while safeguarding the right of all students to a world-class education.

Thanks to the hard work of educators, state and local leaders, communities, parents, families and students, the nation has made significant educational progress over the last eight years. To build on our prosperity and competitiveness as a nation, the administration has worked diligently to make a positive difference for students and to continue the work to deliver on the promise of a world-class education to every child.

For more information, contact: Jon Scott, UM director of public relations, at 662-915-5231 or jonscott@olemiss.edu; Mitchell Diggs, assistant director of public relations, at 662-915-5639 or mdiggs@olemiss.edu; or Mary Knight, broadcast communications specialist, at 662-915-5089 or msknight@olemiss.edu.

By HottyToddy.com staff report.

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