MCC President and Student to Speak at College Success Forum
College Success Forum
Building Futures for Women and Girls
Tuesday, April 18, 2017, 10:00-11:30am, Legislative Office Building, Hearing Room 1A,
300 Capitol Ave, Hartford.
60,000 women and girls live in poverty in Greater Hartford. A research study commissioned by the Aurora Foundation for Women and Girls reveals that a woman who attains a Bachelor’s degree earns about $47,000 a year, while a woman with a high school diploma earns about half as much. In Hartford County, only 33% of all women, 17% of African American women and 13% of Latinas get Bachelor’s degrees. For many women in Connecticut – especially women of color and low-income or first-generation college students – reaching graduation requires academic and social supports that meet their distinct needs.
Join us for an exploration of the obstacles preventing women from succeeding in college, and learn about innovative programs that propel women to success.
Speakers and Panelists:
State Rep. Matt Ritter, House Majority Leader
Carolyn Van Newkirk Hoffman, Member, Aurora Board
Karen Jarmoc, Chair, Ct Commission on Women, Children &Seniors, President, Aurora Board
Estela Lopez, Ph.D., Former Provost, CT Board of Regents for Higher Education, Aurora Board
Gena Glickman, Ph.D., President, Manchester Community College
Rhona Free, Ph.D., President, University of Saint Joseph
David Johnston, Exec. Dir., Center for Higher Education Retention Excellence
Tara Spain, Vice President & COO, Travelers Foundation
Amy Jaffe Barzach, Director, The Women’s Advancement Initiative, University of Hartford
Deborah Ullman, CEO, YWCA Hartford Region
Jessica Floyd, Student, University of Hartford
Aeriel Denmark, Student, Manchester Community College
Diane Smith, Moderator, President, Diane Smith Media
By investing in college-retention programs, the Aurora Foundation helps women earn degrees that secure a living wage and significantly reduce their rate of dependency on welfare and other supplemental services. This improves the quality of life for individuals and families, and the social and economic vitality of our communities.
About the Aurora Women and Girls Foundation PROGRAM
The Aurora Foundation began making grants in 2004. Since then, the foundation has allocated over half a million dollars in grants that have served 4,100 women and girls in Greater Hartford.
From 2013–2014 the foundation conducted research on the issues confronting women in our area, intending to identify sweet spots for Aurora’s targeted funding. Subsequently, the board selected higher education as the most powerful lever to improve economic opportunity for women and girls in Greater Hartford.
For more information, contact Laurie Robillard, Laurie@aurorafoundation.org or 860.881.4926 or visit www.aurorafoundation.org.
