Amarillo College President Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart is expected to meet with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama today at the White House.
Lowery-Hart is among a group of college presidents and community leaders who were invited to the White House College Opportunity Summit.
Rod Schroder, superintendent of the Amarillo Independent School District, and Clay Stribling, president and CEO of the Amarillo Area Foundationm, also will attend.
“This is a huge honor for Amarillo College and our entire community,” Lowery-Hart said. “Clay Stribling and Rod Schroder have been instrumental in creating the No Limits No Excuses partnership.”
Lowery-Hart said it is an acknowledgment not only of what the college is doing but of how powerful the partnerships forged between the college and community are.
AC is becoming an example for the rest of the country to emulate, he said.
The conference will focus on methodologies and community partnerships that have the potential to improve student success.
No Limits No Excuses is a community initiative that promotes post-secondary education and the living-wage jobs that ensue.
The initiative led to AC’s recent selection as a Leader College by Achieving the Dream.
Students on campus shared their thoughts on the summit and opinions on what they would like to change in the education system.
“(I hope) that they would increase funding. Teachers are not paid enough,” said Elizabeth Beckham, a photography major.
Brentley Ince, a networking and cybersecurity major, said she hopes financial aid might be increased. The money should go to making sure students get a better education, Ince said.
A month ago, Lowery-Hart was appointed by the American Association of Community Colleges to serve on its Commission on Global Education.
He attended a meeting for the commission in November in Washington, D.C., which he said also was grounded in the college’s recent ascension to the Leader College status in Achieving the Dream.
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