Freeman Hrabowski of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, to speak

Universities have the potential to play a key role in transforming urban communities by providing greater opportunities for underprivileged youth, particularly in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields.

That is the theme of the 2015 Urban Education and Community Forum sponsored by the School of Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Featured speaker Freeman A. Hrabowski III, Ph.D., president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County since 1992, will talk about strategies to help more students from all backgrounds excel. He recently was named by President Barack Obama to chair the newly created President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. He also chaired the National Academies’ committee that produced the recent report, “Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads.”

This year’s forum is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday March 3 at Pierson Auditorium in the UMKC Atterbury Student Success Center, 5000 Holmes St. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested and available by visiting the Forum Event Page or by calling 816-235-2963 by February 24.

Hrabowski will reflect on his experience growing up in the segregated South and participating as a child in the Civil Rights Movement. He will discuss how the country today is different in many ways for people who have an education, but the challenge for educators at all levels is supporting the millions of children who are not succeeding. A consultant on science and math education to national agencies, universities and school systems, he will talk about K-12 intervention strategies and best practices involving STEM achievement.