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NEWS RELEASE
Contacts: Sophia Miceli (952) 746-5208 or John Manning (651) 228-9061

Diverse Alumni Inspire Students at Five High Schools With April 16-20 Minnesota Private Colleges Tour

(St. Paul, MN) – April 10, 2007 – Successful, diverse alumni of private colleges and universities will be on tour next week — visiting five high schools in five days and inspiring students to prepare for college. The Minnesota Private Colleges Tour: Where Diversity Matters will run April 16 to April 20.

These 14 alumni are taking time off from work and sharing their life experiences with a student population that is growing increasingly diverse in terms of culture, ethnicity and socioeconomic background. The Tour stops will be:

Monday, April 16 at Central High School, St. Paul;
Tuesday, April 17 at Washburn High School, Minneapolis;
Wednesday, April 18 at North Community High School, Minneapolis;
Thursday, April 19 at Robbinsdale-Cooper High School, New Hope; and
Friday, April 20 at Edison High School, Minneapolis.

"Encouraging high school students to plan for college is vital to Minnesota’s future. We need all students in the state to realize their fullest potential," said David B. Laird, Jr., president, Minnesota Private College Council. "These outstanding alumni make it clear that private colleges put excellence within reach."

The weeklong Tour will connect students through a variety of means, including pep rallies, promotions and an informative Web site at www.mnprivatecolleges.org/tour. The Tour will feature:

Established alumni who have achieved a significant level of experience and success in their chosen career; their message will focus on how their college degree has helped them achieve their success; and
Recent alumni who can speak about the college experience itself; the message of these alumni will focus on their college experience and how a degree is helping prepare them for future success.

By speaking to students who, like themselves, come from diverse backgrounds, these alumni will first and foremost inspire students to aspire and prepare for college. In addition, they will encourage students to consider private institutions as viable options.

The list of alumni on tour follows; biographies on the alumni are available at www.mnprivatecolleges.org/tour.

Building on our track record

Diversity at Minnesota’s private colleges is flourishing as students from diverse cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds continue to see these institutions as good choices. Consider these facts:

Minnesota Private College Council’s 17 member institutions have the best four-year bachelor’s degree graduation rate of ethnic students in the state.
Our colleges and universities confer 26 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded to people of color in Minnesota, a greater percentage than do state universities. (For example, we award 32 percent of bachelor’s degrees in physical sciences and 21 percent of bachelor’s degrees in business.)
Enrollment of diverse undergraduates increased at seven times the rate that enrollment increased among white students over the last 10 years; diverse students now represent 11 percent of our enrollment.

Today, over 5,000 diverse students are enrolled in Minnesota’s private colleges’ undergraduate, graduate and professional schools and programs. The Minnesota Private Colleges Tour is one of the ways the members of the Minnesota Private College Council are helping these students to take their place as leaders in society.

Featured alumni

Ruth Baires College of St. Catherine
Alfred Coleman University of St. Thomas
Maria Garza-Cienfuegos St. Mary’s University of Minnesota
Ann Iijima Carleton College
Clarence Jones Concordia University, St. Paul
Debra Jones Augsburg College
Victoria Karpeh College of St. Catherine
Troy Matson Hamline University
Chau Pham University of St. Thomas
Carolyn Sandberg Macalester College
Kimberly Therres College of St. Benedict
Diane Tran College of St. Scholastica
Vik Uppal University of St. Thomas
Charles Williams University of St. Thomas

For more information:
Visit www.mnprivatecolleges.org/tour or call:

Sophia Miceli, Affinity Marketing, 952-746-5208, sophia@elevatingbrands.com
John Manning, Minnesota Private College Council, 651-271-9424, jmanning@mnprivatecolleges.org