America needs clear paths to learning and success after high school that make the nation stronger and meet the needs of today’s student.

No matter where you come from, what you look like, or how much money your family has, you should have what you need to learn, grow, and thrive. Read more about Lumina’s Committment to Racial Equity.

Lumina Foundation works in partnership with education and business leaders, civil rights organizations, policymakers, and individuals who want to reimagine how and where learning occurs.

AREAS OF FOCUS

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Justice for Today's Students
Policies, practices, and beliefs—rooted in history and still affecting people today—keep many Black, Native American, and Hispanic people from the education and skills they need.
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Our commitment to racial equity
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Lumina wants to ensure quality education for all Americans.
Find out how Lumina's efforts support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of Quality Education.
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The Nation’s Progress

The United States faces an urgent and growing need for talent. Many more people of all races, ethnicities, ages, and income levels will need college degrees, certificates, industry certifications, and other credentials of value to join or remain in the middle class.

Success Stories

Aggies Elevated students Bret Giebel (left) and Willy Wilson.
Focus Magazine
Utah State program links students to good jobs
Aggies Elevated is a two-year program at Utah State University that is designed to serve students with intellectual disabilities well – not merely by providing opportunities for learning, but also by helping students land competitive, “real-world” employment after they graduate. The staff-intensive Aggies Elevated program typically serves about 15 students at a time. As of…
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Daniel Castellanos shows off his signature salad outside The Pressroom restaurant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Focus Magazine
‘Special ed goes to college’? Not at Millersville
The goal of the Integrated Studies program at Millersville University is to fully merge its students into college life. The 25 students on the university’s southeastern Pennsylvania campus live with roommates who aren’t part of the program. No classes or social events are designed exclusively for them. They join clubs on campus, but they do…
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Focus Magazine
Western Kentucky serves students on the spectrum
Western Kentucky University’s Circle of Support surrounds high-functioning students on the autism spectrum. Within the Circle — which is a feature of the university’s Kelly Autism Program (KAP) — services are robust: everything from single-room housing to frequent attendance at required “study table” sessions. The sessions are staffed by KAP employees who tutor students on…
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Featured News
The United States Capitol can be seen from Arlington National Cemetery here on a beautiful fall day in Washington D.C.
July 2, 2020
How to Build a Post-Pandemic America
By Jamie Merisotis, Jesse O'Connell
The Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federal agency created in 1935 to address the nation’s then-worst economic catastrophe, is getting a fresh look as we think about how to help millions of Americans left jobless in the pandemic. There’s a good reason for why. During its eight-year tenure, the WPA put more than eight million…
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Engineer Planning Project With CNC Machinery In Background
June 29, 2020
Adults can thrive amid the pandemic—and flourish when economic recovery comes—by earning short-term credentials
By Courtney Brown
A global health crisis hurts even those who don’t fall ill, especially people with no formal education beyond high school who are caught in the economic riptide of soaring unemployment.
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Close up of American flag
June 29, 2020
New data show 51.3% of U.S. adults hold degrees, certificates, or industry certifications
Lumina Foundation’s A Stronger Nation measures industry certifications for the first time, shows gaps in attainment persist among people 25 to 64 who are Black, Hispanic, and Native American
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Man scrolling on mobile phone.
June 26, 2020
Lumina will join Facebook advertising boycott
By Jamie Merisotis
Lumina Foundation doesn’t usually find itself standing with the country’s major consumer brands. They have their mission, and we have ours. But a critical moment in the life of the nation has changed that.
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June 24, 2020
Global Tech Entrepreneur Joins Lumina Board
INDIANAPOLIS – Justin P. Christian, founder and chief executive officer of BCforward Corp., has joined Lumina Foundation’s board of directors.
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Dillard sophomore Khaelyn Jackson on bed with laptop and study materials.
June 22, 2020
Lumina Webinar: How HBCUs are working together for student success and social justice
By Haley Glover
HBCUs, or Historically Black Colleges and Universities, are centers of academic excellence and community-building, and committed advocates for racial equity and social justice.
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George Floyd memorial mural painted on wall of cup foods where Floyd was arrested. Mourners gather in a circle. The ground is covered with notes, candles, and flowers.
June 19, 2020
Hoosier leaders must act to curb racial injustice by creating real opportunity through higher learning
By Jamie Merisotis
The killing of George Floyd at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve has awakened many Hoosiers to the fact that the racial discrimination we had hoped was a thing of the past still infects every facet of our society. We see it in policing and criminal justice, in a disproportionately high death…
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DACA student Laura Piñeros at desk in a full classroom writing in a notebook.
June 18, 2020
Upholding DACA (even on procedural grounds) is good news for America. It’s not just good for ‘Dreamers’ whose lives are on hold
By Jamie Merisotis
For a country locked in overlapping health, economic, and racial crises, the U.S. Supreme Court’s DACA decision couldn’t come at a better time—it affects all three.
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David Zimmer addressing a crowd at a podium.
June 16, 2020
University of Chicago is vulnerable in new COVID era
The University of Chicago has invested heavily in recent years to leap ahead of the pack, besting its elite local rival Northwestern University in national rankings, but its weaker financial profile is making it more vulnerable to fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
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Danette Howard
June 12, 2020
The True Price Of Our Cancelled Graduations And The Woman Working To Write The Check
By the year 2025, the United States will need 60% of its working-age adults to have college degrees, workforce certificates or other quality credentials to meet social, economic, and individual demands.
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June 10, 2020
However SCOTUS rules, we must continue to pursue fundamental fairness for ‘Dreamers’
By Jamie Merisotis
A single Supreme Court decision doesn’t say who we are as a country—but how we react to it might. Before long, U.S. Supreme Court justices will rule on the fate of about 650,000 undocumented immigrants who are waiting anxiously. They have been protected by DACA, the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
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June 4, 2020
In this recovery, states are leading the way with credential pathways to good jobs
By Amber Garrison Duncan
Long before the pandemic and economic crisis hit early this year, states were working to prepare citizens for the workforce of tomorrow. Well, tomorrow is here. We are in the midst of the most devastating economic crisis we’ve ever known, layered on top of a deadly public health crisis.
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June 1, 2020
We grieve because of racial injustice. We hope because our work to help more people learn creates opportunity.
By Jamie Merisotis
The tragic, senseless death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and the resulting cries of anguish have profoundly affected all of us at Lumina Foundation.
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