OREM, Utah — The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, in partnership with the XQ Institute, today announced President Astrid S. Tuminez as one of the newly established Carnegie Postsecondary Commission members.
“On behalf of Utah Valley University, we congratulate President Tuminez on this significant honor,” said Provost Wayne Vaught. “President Tuminez will offer invaluable insight to this committee as a leader dedicated to removing barriers to education and creating pathways to success for all people. She has a strong track record of innovation and implementation. We look forward to the findings of this prestigious committee.”
The Commission is composed of diverse leaders in higher education and K12. Its goal is to identify the most effective ways to help millions of low-income, underrepresented, and first-generation college students achieve their postsecondary education goals and secure meaningful careers.
For the next two years, Commission members will focus on scalable, affordable, and career-aligned higher education models; technology-powered teaching and learning methods; pathways that blur the boundaries between secondary, postsecondary, and work; and policy ideas that promote equity and greater opportunities for low-income, underrepresented, and first-generation students.
“This Commission mobilizes a cohort of innovative leaders who understand that the educational ecosystem in this country is falling far short of its promise for students from all walks of life,” says Commission Co-Chair Shirley M. Collado, President & CEO of College Track and Carnegie Senior Fellow. “By pulling this group together, we are harnessing the lived expertise of thinkers who frequently operate outside of the usual channels—leaders whose collective ingenuity and vision will translate into the bold solutions we need to effect systemic change.”
The Commission will create a series of “action papers” to provoke critical discussion, create visibility, and spur action for innovative solutions to make the postsecondary sector a more vital engine of upward mobility and economic opportunity. It will also promote and draw attention to some of the country’s most promising ideas, models, and solutions so that they may be widely scaled in more settings.
The Commission will also guide the issuance of newly constructed Carnegie Classifications for every institution of higher education (IHE) in the nation in partnership with the American Council on Education. This endeavor aims to focus IHEs on their essential purpose, catalyze public capital distribution to institutions that accelerate economic mobility, shape federal and state policy, and learn from institutions that are true opportunity generators.
