U.S. Department of Education Secretary DeVos Meets with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities





February 25, 2017


Washington, DC - - (February 24, 2017) Yesterday, U. S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos met in Washington with members of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).

In addition to Secretary DeVos, those in attendance included:

Presidents and Chancellors

Peter McPherson, President, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, President Emeritus, Michigan State University

Mark Becker, President, Georgia State University

Angel Cabrera, President, George Mason University

Robert Caret, Chancellor, University of Maryland System

Waded Cruzado, President, Montana State University

Mildred Garcia, President, California State University, Fullerton

Bernadette Gray-Little, Chancellor, University of Kansas

Ronald Green, Chancellor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Mark Rosenberg, President, Florida International University

Kirk Schulz, President, Washington State University

Teresa Sullivan, President, University of Virginia

Satish Tripathi, President, University of Buffalo, SUNY



APLU Staff Members in attendance:

Jennifer Poulakidas, Vice President, Congressional & Governmental Affairs, APLU

Craig Lindwarm, Director, Congressional & Governmental Affairs, APLU

Jeff Lieberson, Vice President, Public Affairs, APLU

Jack Cline, Director of Federal Relations, University of Kansas


U. S. Department of Education staff members Jim Manning and Taylor Hansen also attended the meeting.


In the meeting, the attendees discussed the following items:

• College affordability and finding new and innovative approaches to reduce college costs

• Ensuring every student, and potential student, has the ability and access to pursue their educational goals and dreams

• Recent changes Title IX guidance

• Protecting first amendment rights of students on campus

• Importance of the Pell Grant program and year-round Pell Grants

• Helping colleges work better with the business community to ensure students have job-ready skills

• Reducing the regulatory burden on colleges

• Protecting student data

• Improving completion rates

• Importance of career and technical education
Information source: U.S. Department of Education

About the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities' membership includes 235 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems and affiliated organizations.

Annually, 194 U.S. member campuses enroll 4 million undergraduates and 1.2 million graduate students, award 1.1 million degrees, employ 1 million faculty and staff and conduct $40.7 billion on university-based research.