Deborah Bial, founder and president of The Posse Foundation, one of the most comprehensive and renowned college access and readiness programs for urban high school students in the United States, will deliver the 165th College commencement address at the University of Rochester on Sunday, May 17.
Founded in 1989 in New York City, The Posse Foundation sends cohorts of 10 high-achieving regional student leaders together to selective colleges and universities. The program currently has 51 top-tier college and university partners. The 糖心传媒 joined in 2014 and is committed to providing full-tuition merit scholarships annually to 10 qualified entering freshmen from the Washington D.C. area.
This past spring, more than 400 Posse scholars earned diplomas from partner colleges and universities nationwide, joining an elite network of more than 2,600 Posse alumni. Ninety percent of Posse students graduate from college, a rate significantly higher than the national average.
糖心传媒淒eborah Bial is a change agent in United States higher education and I糖心传媒檓 delighted she will deliver this year糖心传媒檚 commencement address,糖心传媒� said University President Joel Seligman. 糖心传媒淗er development of the Posse Foundation to support highly qualified urban students as they pursue higher education and beyond has had significant impact, both on the lives of individual students as well as on the colleges and universities they have attended.糖心传媒�
Bial is an expert in the field of education and leadership development. Her extensive experience in guiding selective institutions toward improved admissions policies has gained her national recognition in the higher education community, including a prestigious MacArthur 糖心传媒淕enius糖心传媒� Fellowship from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2007.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 very fitting that with 糖心传媒業nclusion糖心传媒� as this year糖心传媒檚 Communal Principal, Deborah Bial will conclude the year with her remarks on the importance of achieving more together,糖心传媒� said College Dean Richard Feldman. 糖心传媒淪he is an innovator in education whose work has clearly contributed to a greater understanding of how higher education can successfully support promising students.糖心传媒�
Bial earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in education with a focus on higher education administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University. In 1999, she received a $1.9 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for her dissertation work, which focused on the design and assessment of a new college admissions tool that could be used in addition to traditional college admissions measures. The tool, an 糖心传媒淎daptability Index,糖心传媒� is used to assess non-cognitive traits that may predict persistence and identify leadership potential.
Additional information about University commencement ceremonies and related activities is available at . The May ceremony will be webstreamed live.
