November 2006

IIT TO OFFER FULL SCHOLARSHIPS TO CPS GRADUATES

At podium, Rufus Williams President of the Chicago Board of Education made the following statement:

"The fact that more local universities are entering into these kinds of partnerships with us shows that they recognize that an investment in our students is an investment in the future of the city of Chicago. They see local talent, and they want to be part of developing it to its fullest potential. That’s what education is all about, and that’s the example Mayor Daley has tried to set--that education in the city of Chicago takes a collaborative effort from everyone.

Science and technology are the keys to the future, and the Illinois Institute of Technology has long been an outstanding university for students to develop their skills in those areas. Therefore, it’s only natural they would reach out to deserving students in their own backyard to help forge a brighter future for everyone. We’d like to thank IIT for their generosity and their commitment to the city and the children of Chicago, and hope that their example leads even more universities to follow suit."

(Photo credit: www.bronzevilleonline.com)

IIT TO OFFER FULL SCHOLARSHIPS TO CPS GRADUATES

School Is Third Chicago Institution to Offer Aid

Mayor Richard M. Daley and leaders of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) announced Wednesday that IIT will offer scholarships to all qualifying Chicago Public Schools graduates who meet admission requirements and who have a household family income of less than $40,000.

IIT is the third local institution to earmark scholarships specifically for CPS graduates. The University of Chicago’s Collegiate Scholars program supports five students each year, and Roosevelt University in October announced plans to offer scholarships to qualifying students from Little Village’s School of Social Justice.

“This program is going to make a big difference in the lives of some of our best students,” Daley said at a news conference at IIT’s recently renovated Technology Business Center, 3440 S. Dearborn St. “The Chicago Public Schools have made tremendous progress in improving classroom learning and raising the aspirations of their students. This scholarship program is another big step in the right direction.

The scholarship will cover any remaining costs – including tuition, books and fees -- once federal, state and other available awards have been applied. Tuition alone, without any aid, is approximately $23,000 annually.

John W. Rowe, chair of IIT’s Board of Trustees, and IIT president Lewis Collens said the university hopes to support 100 CPS graduates over the next four years through the program, which will take effect with freshmen entering in September, 2007 and continue for the foreseeable future.

The class entering IIT in fall 2006 had a mean grade point average of 3.88 on a four-point scale, average SAT score of 1286 and average ACT score of 28. The class includes 13 high school valedictorians and nine salutatorians. Of 484 entering freshmen, 64 students ranked in the top ten of their graduating class and 37 percent ranked in the top 10 percent of their graduating class. Of the 484 freshmen, 46 are from CPS. For complete admission requirements, visit www.iit.edu.

“This partnership is a perfect example of the higher education community reaching out to work with our students,” CPS Chief Executive Officer Arne Duncan said. “Together, we can work to prepare them to succeed in today’s increasingly technologically oriented society.”

As part of the new program, IIT will also work with CPS on preparing more students for acceptanceand eventual success at the university and other post secondary institutions.

“This initiative is designed to address the very real dilemmas experienced by families struggling to balance rising living expenses and the cost of higher education,” Collens said. “This program can also make a lasting impact on the growing national crisis in math and science education.”

The Chicago Public Schools is the nation’s third-largest school system. It includes more than 600 schools and serves about 415,000 students.

Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting technological university awarding degrees in the sciences, mathematics and engineering, as well as architecture, psychology, design, business and law. IIT’s interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum prepares the university’s more than 6,700 students for leadership roles in an increasingly complex and culturally diverse global workplace. IIT students and faculty represent a wealth of intellectual capital for technology enterprise development.

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At podium, left in photo the new Chairman of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) addresses an audience of over 250 technologist at the Grand Opening Celebration of University Technology Park at IIT. Listening attentively, while seated on the front row of invited guests from right to left are: Congressman Bobby Rush, Mayor Richard M. Daley, 3rd Ward Alderman Dorothy Tillman and outgoing IIT President Lewis Collens.

IIT Board of Trustees Chair John Rowe and President Lew Collens Announce Major Chicago Public School Financial Aid Initiative

CPS Students Whose Families Earn Less Than $40,000 Annually and Meet IIT's Admission Criteria Receive Free Tuition, Books and Fees

CHICAGO, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Board of Trustees Chair John W. Rowe and IIT President Lewis Collens today announced a major initiative for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students. IIT will offer Chicago Public School graduates who meet IIT's admission requirements and whose parents (or guardians) have household family incomes of less than $40,000 the opportunity to attend the university with full financial support for all tuition, books and fees.

Beginning with the first-year class entering Illinois Institute of Technology in September 2007, IIT will make these awards to June 2007 CPS graduates and will pay any remaining costs once federal, state and other available awards have been applied. During the next four years, IIT hopes to support 100 CPS graduates from low-income families who meet the eligibility requirements for the university.

"This initiative is designed to address the very real dilemmas experienced by families struggling to balance rising living expenses and the cost of higher education," Collens said. "This program can also make a lasting impact on the growing national crisis in math and science education. We will look to our alumni, friends and the community to provide long-term philanthropic support for this initiative."

"As the head of Exelon, a company that employs hundreds of IIT graduates and is committed to supporting education in the communities we serve, I'm delighted that my first major announcement as Chair of the IIT Board of Trustees is one that provides opportunity for CPS students," Rowe added. "We want to maintain the high academic standards of IIT and provide a chance for those, who in the past, may have had to decide against a college or university education because of cost."

"This program is going to make a big difference in the lives of some of our best students," said Mayor Richard M. Daley. "The Chicago Public Schools have made tremendous progress in improving classroom learning and raising the aspirations of their students. This scholarship program is another big step in the right direction."

This effort is the latest iteration of IIT's growing relationship with Chicago Public Schools. Earlier this year, IIT was designated as a co-recipient of a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant awarded to CPS to help improve mathematics and science teacher education. IIT, along with partners Glencoe/McGraw Hill and The Field Museum of Natural History, will work with seven CPS high schools over a three-year period to co-develop curriculum that will provide students a better understanding of biology, chemistry, and physics within a framework of National and State Standards.

"We're deeply grateful and are lucky to have strong partners like IIT to help our students succeed and reach their full potential," said Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Arne Duncan.

The class entering IIT in fall 2006 had a mean grade point average of 3.88/4, average SAT score of 1286 and average ACT score of 28. The class includes 13 high school valedictorians and nine salutatorians. Of 484 entering freshmen, 64 students ranked in the top ten of their graduating class and 37% ranked in the top 10% of their graduating class. For complete admission requirements, visit http://www.iit.edu .

Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting technological university awarding degrees in the sciences, mathematics and engineering, as well as architecture, psychology, design, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum prepares the university's more than 6,700 students for leadership roles in an increasingly complex and culturally diverse global workplace. IIT students and faculty represent a wealth of intellectual capital for technology enterprise development.

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City schools get ready for lessons from Cosby
Self-help message will be pushed at 2 forums

* Power of Parenting Conference Flyer *

By Lori Olszewski
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 1, 2006

Comedian Bill Cosby, who ignited a national debate by blaming some poor blacks for their problems, is bringing his self-help message to Chicago parents and their sons on Wednesday.

Chicago Public Schools officials hope to use Cosby's star power to help pull a record number of families to the district's annual parent involvement conference, which runs through Thursday.

At the same time, board president Rufus Williams, who lobbied for the Cosby appearance, plans to use the entertainer's message of personal responsibility as a strategy to improve poor academic performance, especially among boys, in the predominantly African-American school district. Black males have the highest dropout rates in the Chicago schools.

"We have to grab our young men and elevate them," said Williams. "We are not ignoring our young women. We will get there. But we need to deal with [the young men] first."

Cosby will offer an unusual after-school session for boys and men after he speaks to the wider parent audience earlier in the day. Both events are free and on a first-come, first-served basis at McCormick Place Lakeside Center.

The after-school session on how to be a responsible man is open to all races. The talk from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday is planned for boys and teens in 6th through 12th grades and their fathers, uncles, guardians and mentors.

Doors open for the earlier parent session at 9 a.m.

Chicago school officials encourage anyone interested in attending any part of the conference to call 773-553-1400 during business hours for details.

"If we are going to close the [racial achievement] gap in education, we have to elevate the importance of education. Education is as important as breathing," Williams said.

Though Williams strongly supports Cosby's message and presence as a role model for young African-American men, some of Cosby's remarks have spurred controversy over the last two years. The debate began in 2004 when Cosby harshly criticized neglectful black fathers and blacks who used ungrammatical English, among other behavior, at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education decision.

Cosby then took his message on the road, holding forums on family and education in Detroit, Los Angeles and other cities.

Since then, scholar Michael Eric Dyson and others have criticized Cosby, who grew up in a Philadelphia housing development, as an elitist millionaire who does not recognize the effect of institutional racism, poverty and prejudice on some of the blacks he criticized.

Some in the community think the debate that may erupt at the conference over Cosby's remarks could distract from the district's message that parents must be involved and support their children's education.

One community organizer fears that the low-income parents whom the conference needs to motivate may be turned off if they interpret Cosby's remarks as "finger-wagging" or personal criticism.

"You could have a clash of the classes in the black community, between the middle-class audience Cosby would tend to attract and the low-income families in the schools," said John Paul Jones, a parent and Englewood community activist who plans to attend.

Others think Cosby's emphasis on self-reliance and no excuses is needed to help today's black youths take advantage of the opportunities provided by the civil rights movement.

Phillip Jackson, executive director of The Black Star Project, which encourages families, especially fathers, to get involved in their children's education, said his group is urging parents to attend the conference--no matter what they think about Cosby.

After Cosby speaks Wednesday, a series of Chicago Public Schools parent workshops will be offered Thursday in Spanish and English. The topics range from how to help children with a science project to how to go back to college.

"The goals of this conference are bigger than Bill Cosby," Jackson said. "He isn't going to be the solution. The solution will be when men on the block step up."

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If you go

What: Chicago Public Schools annual parent conference

Where: McCormick Place Lakeside Center

When: Wednesday and Thursday; doors open at 9 a.m.

Conference registration/details: Call 773-553-1400 during business hours

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lolszewski@tribune.com
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune