Renowned lawyer and social justice activist Bryan Stevenson will keynote the 2019 UNCF (United Negro College Fund) Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) Convening, July 1-3, 2019, in Atlanta, GA. The two-and-a-half-day event convenes leaders and administrators from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to focus on institutional promising practices on curriculum enhancement, intentional co-curricular engagement, guided pathways, and career services, all within a social justice context. Attendees at the data institute will gain better understanding on how effectively use data technology on their campuses; how to best execute data analysis projects; and understand the tools needed to facilitate cross-campus data sharing and communications.
Sponsored by Lilly Endowment, Inc. the annual CPI Convening engages faculty, staff and executive leadership from more than 40 institutions on intentional approaches to leverage disruptions in higher education. “The 2019 theme, Linked: Promise to Purpose leverages the unique experiences of HBCUs to explore the challenging needs of today’s workplace in a broader context of cultural and societal barriers,” said UNCF Vice President, Research & Member Engagement, Dr. Brian Bridges. “As UNCF celebrates its 75th anniversary of supporting HBCUs, we are reinforcing our commitment to the sustainability and transformation of our member HBCUs. This includes collaborating with HBCU leadership on innovative approaches to preparing students for careers and structuring the student experience to make them job-ready at graduation. The CPI Convening is one of the primary ways we advance this body of work,” said Bridges.
Bryan Stevenson is the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, AL. Under his leadership, EJI has worked to eliminate excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent death row prisoners, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill and aiding children being prosecuted as adults. In 2012 Stevenson won a historic ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court banning mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children 17 or younger.
In April 2018, Stevenson opened the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, built on the site of a former slave warehouse in Montgomery.
A moderated discussion with Stevenson will follow his keynote address.
"There is no more suitable way to celebrate our 75th anniversary than by hearing from a trailblazer who has inspired so many. A pathfinder in his own right, Bryan Stevenson’s career as a social justice activist has made invaluable contributions to improving outcomes within the African American community. He will certainly encourage thoughtful discussion among faculty, staff, deans and leadership at our historically black colleges and universities and the social justice community as a whole,” said UNCF President and CEO Dr. Michael Lomax.
To learn more about CPI and review the complete schedule, visit uncf.org/CPIConvening.
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About UNCF
UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 21 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges