Lynn Higgs

Lynn Higgs, past chair of the College Board Western Regional Council, has been hard at work searching for ways to increase the awareness of the career opportunities for physics majors. As the undergraduate adviser in the Physics Department at the University of Utah, Higgs is often the first person to suggest the idea of teaching high school physics to
his students.

It is well known that there is a shortage of certified physics teachers in the United States, particularly teachers of AP® Physics. But Higgs took note of the fact that very few efforts have been made to address this problem. In North Carolina, where only two teaching certificates have been granted for physics in the last six years, the state has started paying certified physics teachers $50,000 per year to attract new students to the profession. Last year Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah, graduated 17 physics teaching majors — one fourth of the national total.

Higgs is undertaking four new major outreach efforts to increase the awareness of teaching and other opportunities for physics majors — not only at the University of Utah, but throughout the state and region.

The first project is a recruiting DVD that highlights the physics undergraduate degree. Higgs will distribute copies to hundreds of high school counselors, administrators and physics teachers to  make students  aware of the many career opportunities a physics degree offers.

Second, Higgs plans to personally visit 80 high schools in Utah to talk with counselors, administrators and physics teachers and deliver recruiting materials to high school career, college and regular counselors, who are critical in this equation.

For his third project, Higgs has submitted a proposal to train AP Physics teachers, in cooperation with the Davis School District. If funded, this project will bring qualified teachers to the University of Utah for an intensive three-week program that will cover the curriculum required in the AP Physics course. The long-term goal of this project is to develop qualified AP Physics teachers for the nearly 100 high schools in the state of Utah.

And, lastly, Higgs wants to provide AP Physics to Utah’s many rural high schools. His idea is to video stream a curriculum on the Web that is equivalent to the College Physics course at the University of Utah. Higgs hopes that, when funded, this will be a model program to offer high-quality high school physics courses to all students.

The indefatigable Higgs is also involved in several ongoing programs, such as physics labs for interested high school students and ACCESS, an eight-week program designed to attract female high school juniors and seniors to the sciences.

VP Al Mijares

There are a number of diversity initiatives that are driven by the Western Regional Office's recognition that we must be assertive and unwavering in our efforts to connect all students to college success and opportunity. A Dream Deferred™: The Future of African American Education, the Native American Student Advocacy Institute and Prepárate™: Educating Latinos for the Future of America are events that have taken place in recent weeks, and Western Regional K-12 and Higher Education staff members played an integral part in the organization of these three special conferences, which deal with innovative practices on closing the achievement gap for underrepresented students.
WRO’s higher education staff is busy preparing for many more summer events, including the
28th Annual Summer Institute on College Admissions and School Relations.

July 27-31 at the University of San Diego. Registration is now open for this career development institute, which provides a distinct opportunity for newly hired, entry level admissions/outreach staff to gain a better understanding of the higher education landscape, engage in a robust exchange of ideas and network among a group of passionate and distinguished colleagues. 
 
The higher education staff will host a small group of new deans/directors of admission for a special program June 10 in the San Jose office. Entitled Finding, Recruiting and Enrolling Students for a Global Economy, this pilot program was designed to enable participants to understand the impact of changing demographics on enrollment practices, developing strategies to effectively identify your best student prospects and building relationships with similarly situated admissions professionals. Presenters will include Patricia Coleman, assistant vice president for Enrollment Management, Dominican University; Steven Graff, director and senior consultant, Admissions & Enrollment, the College Board; Esther Hugo, outreach coordinator, Santa Monica College; Mike Matthews, director, Student Search Services, the College Board; and Walter Robinson, director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, University of California-Berkeley.

Sandy Baum, senior analysts for the College Board and professor of economics, Skidmore College, and Linda Peckham, director of communications and training, the College Board, conducted professional development workshops in Seattle, Wash., and Denver, Colo., that examined how pricing, demand, market structures and price discrimination — all traditional components of economic theory — also impact the higher education marketplace and why financial aid is essential to creating equity and access.

The Diversity Collaborative hosted a seminar in Denver, Colo., that provided practical policy guidance for higher education officials. The seminar focused on issues associated with the development of diversity-related, enrollment-management policy (including outreach, recruitment, admissions, financial aid and scholarship policy development) at undergraduate, post-graduate and professional schools.
 
In other K-12 news, the WRO and the Florida Partnership hosted seven members from the California Department of Education last month in Florida. The visit was to provide an opportunity for the California delegation to visit with state legislators, district/school site administration, teachers and students throughout Florida and observe College Board programs and systems that are effectively assisting the state in closing the achievement gap for low-income and underrepresented students.

Finally, last month’s A Dream Deferred Conference drew 524 participants. The keynote speakers were Darnell Hunt, UCLA; Noma Lemoine, LAUSD; and Calvin Mackie, Tulane University.  This year, the Models of Excellence Award was renamed in honor of Asa Hilliard.