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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2002

J. Herman Blake named to Lumina Foundation's Academic Advisory Council

INDIANAPOLIS — Lumina Foundation for Education has appointed J. Herman Blake to its Academic Advisory Council. The Council, composed of 12 leaders in higher education policy, practice and research from across the country, advises the Foundation on relevant issues in higher education access and degree attainment, and recommends research, program and policy initiatives. Blake is director of African-American studies and professor of sociology, educational leadership and policy studies at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa.

"Dr. Blake's insight and experience in higher education student retention and attainment will inform the Foundation's work on projects designed to help more students select and complete the higher education experience that's right for them," said Martha D. Lamkin, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation.

In January 1998, Blake joined the ISU faculty. He has also served as vice chancellor for undergraduate education at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, as the Eugene M. Lang visiting professor of social change at Swarthmore College, and as president of Tougaloo College. From 1966 to 1984, he was a professor of sociology at the University of California-Santa Cruz. He also served as principal academic and administrative officer of Oakes College, Santa Cruz, Calif., for 12 years.

Blake earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from New York University and his master's and doctoral degrees in sociology from the University of California-Berkeley. His research and teaching have concentrated, in part, on Latin American demography and minorities in higher education. His other research interests focus on rural communities in the Sea Islands of South Carolina and also Black militants in urban areas.

Each member of the Advisory Council is an expert in at least one area that Lumina Foundation is focusing on to expand access to an education beyond high school. These focus areas include the following:

• Addressing the issue of access to postsecondary education.


• Supporting efforts that help postsecondary students identify appropriate options and remain in school until they attain their educational objectives.


• Understanding and addressing the challenges faced by nontraditional students, including adult students, first-generation college goers and under-served groups of students.

Blake joins the following higher education leaders also serving on Lumina Foundation's Academic Advisory Council:

Experts in financial access
David W. Breneman, dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.
Natala (Tally) K. Hart, director of student financial aid at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Michael McPherson, president of Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minn.

Experts in student retention
John N. Gardner, executive director and distinguished professor of educational leadership for the Policy Center on the First Year of College at Brevard College in Brevard, N.C.
Vincent Tinto, director of the Institute for Advancing Higher Education Scholarship and the chair of the higher education program and distinguished professor of education at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y.

Experts in nontraditional learners and learning
Augustine (Augie) P. Gallego, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District in San Diego, Calif.
Lucie Lapovsky, president of Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Omer Waddles, executive vice president at ITT Educational Services Inc., in Indianapolis, Ind.

Expert in assessment
Trudy Banta, vice chancellor of planning and institutional improvement at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Expert in policy
Thomas J. Kane, professor of policy studies and economics, School of Public Policy and Social Research, University of California-Los Angeles.

Expert in leadership issues
Christine W. Letts, executive director of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University.

Lumina Foundation for Education, a private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school. Through research, grants for innovative programs and communication initiatives, Lumina Foundation addresses issues surrounding financial access and educational retention and degree or certificate attainment -- particularly among underserved student groups, including adult learners. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in themselves and that society can make in its people.

For more information, contact Sara Murray-Plumer, director of communications at (317) 951-5493 or splumer@luminafoundation.org.