Balance (1965 - 1990)
Wingspread Conferences (1970 and 1982)
The College Board convened the 1970 conference on barriers to higher education that limited the participation of minority and low-income students. Admission testing and student financial aid were the two main topics of the conference. The conference resulted in a book, Barriers to Higher Education, published by the College Board.
The College Board contributed to the 1982 conference, but did not sponsor it. Funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, the 1982 conference examined the programs and policies that emerged since the first conference. The College Board provided the funding to publish the ensuing book, Equality Postponed (New York: The College Board, 1984).
Although conference participants recognized that numerous programs emerged to address the academic achievement and higher education participation gaps between middle class white and minority students, they also noted that the gap still existed.
Participants at the 1982 conference agreed that programs encouraging the higher education participation of minority students had not received adequate resources, but some disagreed as to the theories on serving minority students. The role of the federal government in programs for postsecondary education of minorities was also debated. Some believed that the government had a responsibility to ensure high-quality education for all students, while others voiced their concern that such programs be tied to closely to the policies of the federal government.
Participants at both conferences included Alexander Astin, Edmund Gordon, George Hanford, and Stephen Wright. The 1982 conference also included Carol Stoel, James Rosser, Stephen Adolphus, Barbara Sizemore, Alfredo de los Santos, and Michael Oliva.
