Woodrow Wilson News & Publications
FOR RELEASE: June 2, 2010
CONTACT: Beverly Sanford, Vice President for Communications
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WW PRESIDENT TO BE HONORED AT UCB COMMENCEMENT
First-ever Coard Award recalls memory of Boston education leader and activist
PRINCETON, NJ—The Urban College of Boston (UCB) will present Arthur Levine with its inaugural Robert M. Coard Distinguished Leader Award at its graduation ceremony at the Park Plaza Hotel on June 5.
Dr. Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, was a founding member of the UCB advisory board during his tenure as chair of the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University. UCB provides inner-city residents who would not typically attend college with a college education focusing on career preparation and skill development.
The event marks the first-ever presentation of the new Coard Award, named for UCB’s founding president and the President/CEO of Action of Boston Community Development, Inc. Mr. Coard spent decades fighting for social justice, as well as creating paths to and through education for many students facing poverty.
“Bob Coard fought long and hard for educational opportunity for all, and was one of the nation’s great champions for closing the achievement gap,” said Dr. Levine. “UCB is an important legacy of his work, and its commitment to opportunity is at the heart of the work of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and of my own values. It’s a great honor to be named to receive this award.”
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The Urban College of Boston is a two-year college and the first in the nation to be established by an antipoverty agency, Action for Boston Community Development, Inc. (ABCD). The mission of the Urban College is to provide higher education opportunities to residents who are “underserved” by traditional colleges within a supportive environment and a curriculum that emphasizes career preparation and skill development. More than 1,200 students are served annually at Urban College and the student body reflects the ethnic diversity of Boston’s urban neighborhoods. Many students are the first in their families to attend college. As one student stated, “Students at the Urban College are people who didn’t just assume they would go to college. They are here against all odds.”
Founded in 1945, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation identifies and develops leaders and institutions to address the critical challenges in education. It supports its Fellows as the next generation of leaders shaping American institutions, and also supports innovation in the institutions they will lead.