Dr. Michelle Knight-Manuel's talk was titled: “Ready or Not – Preparing Students of Color for College.”

Nearly 100 alumni and friends attended TC’s Winter Provost's Series on February 8.  Tom James, Provost and Dean of the College, introduced the event’s speaker Michelle Knight-Manuel, Professor of Education and Senior Advisor to the Provost, to a room of enthusiastic attendees in TC's Grace Dodge Hall, where she spoke on the topic of closing the higher education enrollment gap between Black and Latino/a high school students and their white peers.

In addressing the low college enrollment rates among Black and Latino/a students, Knight-Manuel discussed the importance of having school communities build a climate of cultural competency and engagement. To enable students to envision higher education as something  within their reach, schools must provide an academic support system in which students can flourish, she said. Knight-Manuel has partnered with the New York City Department of Education on an initiative to improve educational opportunities for students of color in over 40 New York City schools.

More information on Dr. Knight-Manuel’s work can be found in her book co-authored with Joanne E. Marciano, "College Ready: Preparing Black and Latino/a students for higher education - A Culturally Relevant Approach", (2013, New York Teachers College Press).

Published Friday, Feb. 26, 2016