20/20 Committee Update

Submitted by Nathan Basford

Dear SASFAA Members & Friends:

What is the 20/20 Committee you may ask?  It is what was once known as the "Diversity Committee".

Guess we have all heard those words ,”Diversity Committee” and sometimes may feel that we have beaten that poor horse to death.

The 20/20 Committee name was chosen based on President Obama’s address to the country (see below) stating that by the year 2020; America will have the highest number of college graduates in the world. 

In an increasingly competitive world economy, America’s economic strength depends upon the education and skills of its workers.  In the coming years, jobs requiring at least an associate degree are projected to grow twice as fast as those requiring no college experiences.   To meet this economic imperative, President Obama ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training and set a new national goal: By 2020. America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. 

So we now have a brief history of the renaming of the “Diversity Committee”, and we can move forward! 

This year your 20/20 Committee members are: Jackie Owens, Chansone Durden, Sylvia Jones, Felicia Alister, Melinda Shoy-Clarke, Lisa Carey, Heather Vaughan and Nathan Basford. The committee chair is Em McNair.

Your 20/20 committee has been working to ensure that the upcoming annual conference will be very memorable, especially since it is our “50^th Anniversary Celebration”  here are a few of the events that have been planned by the 20/20 committee:

·        Spelman College Glee Club February 10^th.

·        Atlanta Institute of Music Jazz Band February 10^th President’s reception 7:00 – 8:00 pm

·        Urban Harp Ensemble:  Perform a mini-concert & provide music during dinner on February 12^th.

·        Georgia Perimeter  Jazz Band:  Sunday, February 12^th 8:30 pm till Midnight

·        Art Exhibit:  Local art from schools around the Atlanta area will be on display during the conference.

Diversity Sessions:

·        Advocacy for Students & Persons with Disabilities

·        “Modern Family”: A Counseling Guide for Financial Aid Professionals

Along with working on conference activities, the committee will begin looking at a possible name change for the committee.  Yes, you read right!  As I stated earlier we have discussed diversity over and over again, and now we must begin to look out- side-the-box to re- define diversity. 

This is an exciting committee to serve on, so if you feel that you have something to offer, and yes, we all do, contact any of the members of the committee to see how you can make a difference.  You can find their contact information by visiting: www.sasfaa.org

We hope to see many of you in Atlanta!

Continue to have a great semester!