University presidents, Central Ky. school administrators to join for education summit

This from KY Forward:

The presidents and senior officers of 12 Kentucky universities and superintendents, principals and other key administrators from 18 central Kentucky counties will come together for an educational summit for the Bluegrass Region. The summit is set for Friday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency in Lexington.

Hosted by the new Bluegrass Higher Education Consortium (BHEC), the focus of the event is to create a new agenda, goals and strategies for the new consortium, discussing college and career readiness, and how to move the needle in a positive fashion on such negative numbers as six-year graduation rates and high school drop out rates.

While the event is not open to the public, any educators, administrators, company CEOs, or economic development officials wishing to attend, may contact Bluegrass Tomorrow.

The consortium, which was formalized by the signing of a charter agreement at Bluegrass Tomorrow’s annual breakfast in February, is co-chaired by President Doug Whitlock of Eastern Kentucky University and President Augusta Julian of Bluegrass Community & Technical College, both Bluegrass Tomorrow board members.

One of the key goals of the consortium is to develop better communication with superintendents and school systems throughout the 18-county Bluegrass Tomorrow footprint, and to develop collaborative opportunities through meaningful dialogue; and the concept for this summit was born.

The summit is a part of Bluegrass Tomorrow’s 3rd Annual Create Bluegrass Celebration, preceded by the annual Vision Awards Breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Keynote speakers for the summit include Kris Kimel, President of the Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation and Ted Abernathy, Executive Director of the Southern Growth Policies Board.

Three major topics will be discussed:

Are our students college and career ready from an academic perspective;? from a social/cultural perspective? And are our students ready to move from secondary or college education to a career?

A myriad of presenters, from educators, students, business executives and others, will be giving short 7-minute “TED type” presentations on each topic, with 20 minutes of discussion following. Key comments, goals and strategies will be captured from each discussion and plenary voting will take place at the conclusion of the event setting priorities for the new consortium.

The twelve schools that have agreed to collaborate to advance the region educationally and economically are: Asbury University, Berea College, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Centre College, Eastern Kentucky University, Georgetown College, Midway College, Morehead State University, Kentucky State University, Sullivan University, Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky. All 12 schools are regionally accredited, four-year institutions, an important criteria for membership agreed to by the presidents.