Opening Ceremony: Education First in the Twenty-First

Author and essayist Richard Rodriguez moderated a panel discussion with leaders of the College Board's member-led, member driven commissions and task forces:

• Commission on Access, Admission, and Success in Higher Education
• Task Force on Admissions in the Twenty-First Century
• Rethinking Student Aid Study Group
• CollegeKeys™ Compact

Panelists:

• Sandy Baum, Senior Policy Analyst, the College Board and Professor of Economics, Skidmore College
• Steve Brooks, Executive Director, North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority
• Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, College Board Vice Chair and Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management at Syracuse University
• William Kirwan, Chancellor, University System of Maryland
• Jerry Lucido, Vice Provost for Enrollment Policy and Management, University of Southern California
• Michael McPherson, President, the Spencer Foundation
• Lester Monts, College Board Chair and Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, University of Michigan

Presidential Luncheon

• Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University
  
• Recognition of the 2008 winners of the Bob Costas Grants for the Teaching of Writing  

Party Texas Style 

• Attendees enjoyed a barbecue and Tex-Mex dinner with dancing and live entertainment throughout the evening.

Friday Night Flick! 

• The evening featured a screening of The Great Debaters, which tells the inspirational true story of Melvin Tolson and the Wiley College debate team of the 1930s.  Attendees celebrated the important principles reaffirmed by this moving film with actors Nate Parker and Voltaire Sterling, screenwriter Robert Eisele and historian Maghan Keita. After the film, there was a live debate featuring current Wiley College student debaters and a Q&A with the actors and screenwriter.

Saturday Institute:  Valuable professional development with thought-provoking leaders from the admissions, financial aid, and counseling communities