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Written by Christopher J. Herman

Willimantic, Conn. - From June 22-27, more than 200 high school juniors from across the state will converge on the campus of Eastern Connecticut State University to attend the 26th   Annual American Legion Boys State.

During Boys State, the students will learn how state and municipal governments operate. They will set up and run mock town, city and state elections and engage in role-playing where towns are represented. Mayors will lobby and representatives and senators will debate and enact legislation.

A number of state legislators and senators have been invited to speak throughout the week. This year's guests include former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, who is scheduled to speak at 7:30 p.m. on June 22.  United States Senator Richard Blumenthal will speak at 7:30 p.m. on June 23.    

For more information on Boys State, contact Victoria Lorenzen at lorenzenv@easternct.edu or 860-465-0172.

Written by Dwight Bachman and Ed Osborn

Willimantic, Conn. --  1,256 undergraduates and 41 graduate students heard the roars and cheers of thousands of their family members and friends as they celebrated their achievements at Eastern Connecticut State University's 123nd  Commencement exercises at the XL Center in Hartford on May 14. 

Carlotta Walls LaNier, the youngest member of the "Little Rock Nine," gave the Commencement Address, telling the graduates "This is your moment, a time you have been looking forward to and working toward since you first arrived at Eastern.  Celebrate the moment; seize it.  Step out into your future bravely and boldly."  LaNier noted that the graduates were bound to encounter challenges.  Those experiences will be "the greatest teacher in the grand classroom of life. Those challenges will show you who you really are."

The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students who desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, AR, in 1957. Due to the segregation policies of Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus and the mob atmosphere in Little Rock at the time, President Dwight Eisenhower ordered 1,000 members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division to Arkansas to provide protection and escort the nine students to class throughout the 1957-58 school year.

Despite the daily military escort, LaNier and her friends were kicked, hit with rocks, threatened, and shunned. Her own home was firebombed.  As the onslaught continued, "the more determined I became to get my diploma."  Today, she has "made peace with my past."
 
LaNier turned to the Class of 2013 and encouraged them to have the same commitment: "Finish whatever goals you have set for yourself.  Find the strength, fortitude and determination to see it through. When you see injustice, how will you respond?  I hope you take the heroic stand." LaNier was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa at the Commencement Exercises.
 

Eastern President Elsa M. Nunez told the graduates, "There is no other country in the world that places its future so firmly in the hands of the people.  You are now the next generation of citizen leaders in our state and in our nation.  . . . The world needs your energy, your enthusiasm, and your skills . . . There is a challenge out there ready for you to conquer, whether it's helping out at your church or synagogue, volunteering at the local senior center, or inventing a new surgical procedure. There is a team somewhere that needs you to complete its mission."

As an example of the contributions Eastern students are making in the world, Nunez cited more than 100,000 hours of volunteer work performed by Eastern students, faculty, and staff each year in local communities, noting that President Barack Obama's had named Eastern to his National Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the third time in four years that past March.At the same time, President Nunez told the graduates to "be yourself and do what makes you happy," and quoted New England bard Henry Thoreau, who wrote: "Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still."

From the Governor's Foot Guard Color Guard in attendance, to the plaintive sound of the bagpipes of the St. Patrick's Pipe Band and the pre-event music of the Thread City Brass Quintet, Eastern's graduation ceremonies were marked by dignity, grace and elegance. Senior Jessica Johnson sang "America the Beautiful," and Senior Class President Thomas Balestracci presented President Núñez with the class gift, a scholarship funded by more than 200 donations from the graduating class. Balestracci encouraged his classmates to continue donating so that the scholarship would grow. "We have all benefited from our experiences here at Eastern. These experiences are the ones that we will keep with us forever as we move on. They will be the ones we will look back upon and realize that they have helped us become who we are today.  We lived up each day like it was our last at Eastern, and now, it really is our last day. We have turned our dreams into reality during our time at this University and we made memories that will last a lifetime."

Yvette Melendez, vice president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education, the governing body for the 17 Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, brought greetings on behalf of the Board of Regents.  "Congratulations to each and every one of you for reaching this incredible milestone.  This is one of those moments that will forever be embedded in your memory.  You are at the beginning of a future you have just begun to mold.  You took the first step in that journey by enrolling at Eastern.  You have much to be proud of."  Meléndez urged the graduates to make their contribution to society "in the way that Eastern has taught you.  You have worked exceedingly hard . . . you have learned that regardless of major, you are part of a community."

Nana Owusu-Agyemang of Ghana, West Africa, delivered the Senior Class Address. She thanked the faculty for their support, saying, "During my time here at Eastern, I have met professors that I simply cannot forget -- professors who really care for their students. It will forever strike me how much time professors at Eastern are willing to spend with each student...how much of themselves they give.  It's not just the professors who make Eastern what it is. At Eastern it's not just about imparting knowledge, it's about joining hands to mold each student into a richer person academically and mentally, as well." Owusu-Agyemang closed by quoting the late philosopher Alan Watts, who once said, "The attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to truth, whatever it might turn out to be."
"May our truth be a good truth," said Owusu-Agyemang. "May our world be a good world. May our mark be a good mark."

 
Carlotta Walls LaNier made history at age 14 when she enrolled at Central High School as a sophomore. On the first day of school she was surrounded by an angry mob that prevented the nine African American students from entering the building. After two weeks of protests and violence, President Dwight Eisenhower sent U.S. Army troops to Little Rock to protect the "Little Rock Nine" by escorting them to class for a year. Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus closed Little Rock schools for the 1958-59 school year, forcing LaNier to take correspondence courses. In June 1960, she became the first African American female student to graduate from Central High School.
LaNier has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the prestigious Spingarn Medal from the NAACP in 1958, and the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian award, which was bestowed upon the Little Rock Nine in 1999 by President Bill Clinton. She is also the author of "A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice of Little Rock Central High School."

Written by Danielle Couture

Willimantic, CT - - Eastern's School of Continuing Education will host "Exploring Abstract Wood Sculpture" for local parents and children, in the Child and Family Development Resource Center on May 7. Eastern Visual Arts Professor Claudia Widdiss will teach the course, which will be held in the Child and Family Development Resource Center from 5:30-7:30 p.m. During the class, families will work together with their children to make fun creations out of wood and other materials.

On April 10, Eastern hosted the workshop "Supporting Your Child's Literacy Skills Through Daily Routines" in the Child and Family Development Resource Center, to inform busy parents how to support their children's development by engaging them in meaningful discussions daily. Children were watched as parents met separately with Theresa Surprenant, instructor of education at Eastern. In a discussion setting, parents learned that even with busy schedules, daily routines such as car rides, cooking dinner or getting dressed in the morning can be taken advantage of to help children learn, by sparking conversation about what they are seeing and doing.

 "The workshop gave us a lot of really practical ideas to do with our kids," says Joanna Auriantal, a Willimantic resident who attended the workshop with her husband and three children. "Some of our favorites were talking to our kids about our childhood, practicing rhyming and making word puzzles to learn spelling. My husband is a teacher and I work in education, so we try to incorporate ideas from work into our family. You always try to do what's best for your kids, but it's nice to come to something like this to give you more ideas and learn from others."
After the discussion, parents were reunited with their children to practice the conversational skills they learned while the children played. Parents also completed an assessment about what they learned and received a badge of completion for the course.
 
Persons interested in the "Exploring Abstract Wood Sculpture" should contact Indira Petoskey, assistant dean of the School of Continuing Education, to register. She can be reached at (860) 465-5066 or petoskeyi@easternct.edu. The fee for the workshop is $10 per adult. Dinner will be served from 5:30-6 p.m.

Written by Dwight Bachman

     Willimantic, CT - Eastern Connecticut State University has been honored by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and the U.S. Department of Education as one of the nation's colleges and universities that are leading the way in bettering their communities through community service and service learning.

     Eastern was one of 609 institutions of higher learning acknowledged on President Obama's "Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll" earlier this month, recognized for their work in serving local communities through volunteer programs and other activities.

     "Community service has been a hallmark at Eastern since our earliest days in the 1890s as the Willimantic State Normal School," said Eastern President Elsa Núñez. "Today, our Center for Community Engagement works closely with our faculty to ensure that the service that our students perform in local communities aligns with their academic programs.  In providing thousands of hours a year of service to dozens of social agencies and nonprofits, Eastern students are demonstrating their social responsibility while learning valuable professional and organizational skills.

     To be recognized by President Obama as a university that exemplifies such service is something that everyone on our campus should be proud of." To better coordinate student service projects in the community, Eastern's Center for Community Engagement (CCE) was launched in September 2009. A full-time director, assistant director, a shared administrative assistant, an AmeriCorps VISTA member and a part-time university assistant staff the center. The center also provides leadership opportunities through federal work-study employment for students.

     Eastern's commitment to service is exemplified by the comprehensive volunteer efforts in area schools by Eastern students. Programs to assist schools with student academic performance, behavior and motivation are widespread and effective in all six schools in the district, as well as in local preschool programs. From 2008-09 to 2011-12 Eastern's Center for Early Childhood Education partnered with two area early learning centers to address early literacy. Over the three-year period ending in the 2011-12 academic year, the project improved the language and early literacy skills of nearly 600 preschool-aged children by providing professional development and literacy coaching to 50 teachers and staff. Thirty-nine Eastern students were involved in this project through academic coursework.

         Eastern students are also engaged in local schools outside of the classroom. Four hundred and forty-nine students volunteered 5,180 hours in long-term volunteering programs in Windham schools through the CCE and student clubs. Including students who participated in academic service-learning, more than 1,000 students contributed more than 60,000 volunteer hours in area schools. Students in the Business Administration Department provide database and website services to area nonprofits, assisting them in providing more effective services. Nonprofits also benefit from students engaged in the Community Grant Service Corps, supported by the Office of Academic Affairs. Students learn how to assist nonprofits with grant research, through use of the University's "Work Hub," an on-campus worksite dedicated to community-campus collaborations. In all, students provided more than 100,000 hours of service to the local community in 2011-12.

      The Puentes al Futuro/Bridges to the Future Mentoring Program demonstrates Eastern's commitment to community service. English Language Learners (ELL) in the Windham Public Schools struggle with assimilation into the school community both socially and academically. The Puentes al Futuro Program assisted ELL students at Windham Middle School (WMS) by integrating in-school tutoring and mentoring with afterschool and summer academic and cultural enrichment with the goal of encouraging students to excel academically and to attend college. The program is a collaborative effort between the Center for Community Engagement (CCE), WMS teachers, family liaisons, and afterschool program staff. WMS students have developed positive mentoring relationships with Eastern volunteers who have committed to continuing their mentoring relationship with the students as they transition to high school.

       Students in the program showed very positive gains in math comprehension, from a mean of 17.8 on the pre-tests to a mean of 54.2 following the instruction. Comprehension remained high at the end of the six-week program, with a mean of 48.7. Students' language arts skills improved as they wrote poetry and performed before families. The project was supported by FWS, AmeriCorps VISTA and a state education grant.

The Collegiate Health Service Corps (CHSC) is a program coordinated by the Center for Community Engagement with a community partner, Eastern Area Health Education Center. The CHSC's mission is to expose undergraduate students to health careers through service learning experiences that promote culturally competent health and disease prevention education to medically underserved communities. Student volunteers participate in three program phases of 25 hours each.
 
     In the past year, nine students contributed 234 hours of service at three elementary schools and one after-school program at a community center in Windham, CT, during the academic year. Students conducted a needs assessment to identify nutrition, public health and wellness topics of interest to the children in each of the programs. They then developed lesson plans with weekly objectives and site-specific activities; 80 lessons were provided at the four sites. Subject areas included nutrition, bullying, staying physically active, hygiene, emergency preparedness and stress and behavior management. Students also worked with a local community garden. Program coordinators at the 4 sites expressed great satisfaction with the program, indicating that the children learned a great deal and the program helped address critical public health issues in the Windham community, which has the highest obesity rate in the state. The AmeriCorps program supported this program.

      Eastern's "Day of Giving," held on the day before Thanksgiving each year, has become one of the University's most highly acclaimed traditions. For six years in a row, more than 450 needy individuals and families have been served a Thanksgiving meal in the University's dining hall. This is a collaborative effort between students, faculty, administrators, contractors and service providers in the community to ensure that people who might otherwise go without a Thanksgiving meal are served with dignity and respect.  More than 100 volunteers from across the campus, including student servers and staff from the University's food service provider, come together to cook, serve, clean up and provide transportation for anyone in the local community who would like to attend.  In addition to the Thanksgiving meal, students work with local grocery stores to gather canned goods -- more than 5,000 items were delivered to soup kitchens and food pantries this past year.  

     In all, Eastern students, faculty and staff donate more than 106,000 hours of time annually to local communities, a value of $2.3 million annually. "Congratulations to Eastern Connecticut State University," said Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS. "Through its work, institutions of higher education are helping improve their local communities and create a new generation of leaders by challenging students to go beyond the traditional college experience and solve local challenges."

     The CNCS oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school's commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.

Written by Danielle Couture

Willimantic, CT - - Eastern Connecticut State University's School of Continuing Education has organized a "Reverse Internship" program, offering help to adult students who want to gain college credits towards their degree for what they have learned at work and can validate.

The program, titled "The Reverse Internship: Converting Banked Applied Learning into College Credit," was formed with the help of a $25,000 grant from the American Council on Education (ACE). The program offers adult students a way to turn their previous work experience into college credits, equivalent to a standard internship.

With the help of faculty, adult students take an online, interactive, reverse internship tutorial which requires them to reflect upon their experiences, identify what they have learned in various categories and then document how they acquired that learning. "The online tutorials challenged every one of us to dig deep into our experiences and recall, reconstruct and then put into proper college format all those bits and pieces that are the puzzle of a life," said Hamden resident Robert Grindle, who participated in the program. "The Continuing Education staff at Eastern has been incredible and encouraging, to the point of being inspirational."

 "Through the program, Eastern hopes to increase the number of part-time adult students who will complete their degree at Eastern," said Carol Williams, associate dean of the School of Continuing Education.
Persons interested in participating in the program should contact Williams at (860) 465-5250 or e-mail her at Williams@easternct.edu.

Written by Danielle Couture

Willimantic, CT - - Seven Eastern Connecticut State University students, accompanied by Assistant Professor of Theatre J.J. Cobb, traveled to Oahu, HI, from Jan. 1-13, to perform a series of theatrical pieces ranging from scenes to monologues to readings. The trip was the culmination of the Site-Specific Theatre course the group had taken during the fall semester, when they wrote their performances and learned about the history and culture of Hawaii.

Site-Specific Theatre is a creative approach that illuminates how a location can influence events; theatrical stories are constructed about a particular place, and are then performed on site. Students participating in the course included Ashley Lovett, Chad Dominique, Paul Lietz, Melissa Conkling, Robert Morgan, Michael Pina. and Darcy Bruce.

Cobb, who was born in Honolulu, noticed her student's assumptions and misperceptions about the Hawaiian Islands, and thought exposure to the reality of the culture was important. "During this experience, theatre is being used as a new way of 'encountering' a place," Cobb says. "In the past, the Theatre Program has offered tours for students to go to a location to study and view shows, but this is the first opportunity for students to generate and perform theatrical pieces of their own during travel."

                                    Students visiting tourist sights in their off time.

When performing, the students literally "popped up" in various places around Oahu and acted out their pieces. "It was tough to battle the noise of our surroundings, including passing traffic and people," said Paul Lietz, a senior majoring in theatre. "But it was a good obstacle for me to try to find different ways to grab people's attention, since they couldn't always hear me."

The Eastern students visited many sites such as the Polynesian Cultural Center, Hanauma Bay, Pearl Harbor and the North Shore, which helped them become familiar with the history of the island. They also experienced cultural activities such as fire-dancing and paddle boarding.

Students also worked with local actors who helped them with the historical accuracy of their scripts and the pronunciation of Hawaiian words. "Getting to see their technique and how they perform and vocalize in their native tongue was probably one of the biggest things I could have gotten out of working with them," said Chad Dominique, a junior majoring in theatre. "It made me realize that theatre is and always will be a universal art form."

Written by Rebecca Holdridge

Willimantic, Conn. Eastern Connecticut State University will hold an open house for prospective students from noon to 4 p.m. on Oct. 14. During the open house, potential students will learn about the benefits of Eastern's liberal arts education and can also tour the campus.
 
 From noon to 4 p.m. an academic, athletic and activities fair will be held in Geissler Gymnasium, where faculty, staff and coaches will discuss a wide range of opportunities for students who enroll at Eastern. At 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. in Room 104 of the Science Building, the Admissions Office will offer guidance on the admissions process. For Spanish-speaking students, a concurrent session will be held at 1:15 p.m. in Room 115 of the Student Center.

At 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Student Center Theatre, Eastern's Housing Office will discuss what is expected of students who live on campus. At 12:30 p.m. in the Betty R. Tipton Room of the Student Center, Eastern President Elsa Núñez will share her vision for Eastern.

At 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Room 219 of the Student Center, Political Science Professor Bill Salka will discuss the University Honors Program. The Financial Aid Office will hold information sessions at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Betty R. Tipton Room. At 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. in Room 110 of Webb Hall, the Department of Education faculty will discuss Eastern's Teacher Education Program, including how to apply and why the program is unique.

 Campus tours of the Child and Family Development Resource Center, the J. Eugene Smith Library, the Science Building, and other facilities will be provided throughout the afternoon.

Written by Rebecca Holdridge

Willimantic, Conn. Eastern Connecticut State University will hold an open house for prospective students from noon to 4 p.m. on Oct. 14. During the open house, potential students will learn about the benefits of Eastern's liberal arts education and can also tour the campus.
 
 From noon to 4 p.m. an academic, athletic and activities fair will be held in Geissler Gymnasium, where faculty, staff and coaches will discuss a wide range of opportunities for students who enroll at Eastern. At 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. in Room 104 of the Science Building, the Admissions Office will offer guidance on the admissions process. For Spanish-speaking students, a concurrent session will be held at 1:15 p.m. in Room 115 of the Student Center.

At 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Student Center Theatre, Eastern's Housing Office will discuss what is expected of students who live on campus. At 12:30 p.m. in the Betty R. Tipton Room of the Student Center, Eastern President Elsa Núñez will share her vision for Eastern.

At 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Room 219 of the Student Center, Political Science Professor Bill Salka will discuss the University Honors Program. The Financial Aid Office will hold information sessions at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Betty R. Tipton Room. At 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. in Room 110 of Webb Hall, the Department of Education faculty will discuss Eastern's Teacher Education Program, including how to apply and why the program is unique.

 Campus tours of the Child and Family Development Resource Center, the J. Eugene Smith Library, the Science Building, and other facilities will be provided throughout the afternoon.

Written by Ed Osborn

Willimantic, CT -- For the third year in a row, Eastern Connecticut State University is ranked in the top 30 public universities in the North Region in U.S. News and World Report's 2013 edition of Best Colleges. Eastern was the highest ranked university among the four Connecticut state universities. Again, Eastern was in the top 100 regional universities -- both public and private -- in the region.

Regional universities such as Eastern are ranked on the basis of criteria that include peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.  The North Region includes colleges and universities from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.

"On behalf of the entire Eastern campus community, I am honored to learn that Eastern Connecticut State University is again ranked in the top 30 public regional universities in the North by U.S. News and World Report," said Eastern President Elsa Núñez. 

"We are honored to be a Tier One institution with a public mission to provide an outstanding liberal arts education to students from all walks of life.  Today's news is a tribute to our entire campus community.  To continue to be ranked this highly in the U.S. News ratings is a sign of an improved academic reputation and the quality of our faculty and educational programs. We are also working hard to give Eastern students more opportunities to apply their classroom learning in such experiences as internships, paid co-ops, service learning, undergraduate research and other applied settings.  This is a great day for our faculty, staff, students and alumni."

  This year's U.S. News and World Report rankings included reviews of 1,391 schools nationwide and are available at www.usnews.com/colleges. They will also be published in the Best Colleges 2013 Guidebook, published by U.S. News & World Report and available on newsstands starting Sept. 18. 
Over the past two decades, the U.S. News and World Report rankings, which group colleges based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, have grown to be the most comprehensive research tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities.

The 2013 Best Colleges program provides the most thorough examination of 1,391 accredited four-year schools, compared on a set of 16 widely accepted indicators of excellence.

The American Council on Education (ACE) has awarded a $25,000 grant to Eastern Connecticut State University for a pilot project aimed at expanding access to higher education for adult learners.  The grant is one of six awarded for pilot projects at institutions around the country, part of ACE's multipronged national initiative to ensure more adults in the United States obtain college degrees.

Eastern's grant proposal is titled, "The Reverse Internship:  Converting Banked Applied Learning into College Credit."

The Lumina Foundation estimates that the United States must increase the percentage of adults with college degrees from 38 percent in 2010 to 60 percent by 2025 to maintain an educated workforce.  Connecticut is hard pressed to be part of that effort for several reasons.  College attendance by nontraditional adult students is low, among the bottom third of the states; the cost of attending college in Connecticut is high and growing; and the drop-out rate of adult students attending college in Connecticut is high.

However, the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning recently studied adult students at 48 colleges across the country and found that adults who receive credit for prior learning were more successful in completing their degrees in a timely fashion.

"Eastern has a long history of serving adults students," explained Carol Williams, associate dean of continuing education, "and we have had a Credit for Lifelong Learning program since 1973." 

Even so, the program is labor intensive and serves only about 20 adult students a year. "Capitalizing upon the idea that working adults have 'banked' valuable applied learning through their work," says Williams, "we will offer working adults a way to turn that learning into meaningful college credit through a 'reverse internship' concept whereby individuals will be able to convert their prior learning into college credits equivalent to a standard practicum or internship usable toward degree requirements." 

The program will incorporate an online interactive tutorial for reverse internships, as well as other faculty support and guidance, with the goal of increasing the number of part-time adult students taking advantage of the CLL program, while decreasing the cost of their college education.

A Kresge Foundation grant of $600,000 announced earlier this year is helping support ACE's national adult education agenda. ACE also is devoting additional funding from the Ford Foundation, Lumina Foundation and Hearst Foundation to the overall adult education initiative and will spend approximately $1 million to propel action on a national scale.

An aggressive adult learner agenda is needed in an economy where, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 63 percent of the 46.8 million job openings that will be created by 2018 will require workers with at least some college education.

ACE is deploying Kresge Foundation money, as well as Ford Foundation funds, for these six pilot projects testing new strategies to assist adult learners in pursuing a postsecondary path. Among the key adult education issues tackled by the projects: How to ensure adult students receive appropriate college credit for prior learning experience gained in the workplace or the military.

Eastern and the other five institutions that have won grants, including public and private, two- and four-year colleges and universities, will present the outcome of their projects at the ACE Annual Meeting, which will be held March 2-5, 2013, in Washington, D.C.

"These promising initiatives have the potential to enhance adult education in this country and offer adult learners a more accessible pathway to a degree," said Gretchen M. Bataille, ACE senior vice president for leadership and lifelong learning. "This exemplifies the commitment ACE and The Kresge Foundation have to forging progress in the national adult education arena."

"As the United States seeks to retake its position as the world's best educated nation, it is critical that colleges and universities look to opportunities to support older adults to build and retool their skills through lifelong learning," said William Moses, Kresge's program director for education.  "Working with adults offers the twin benefit of increasing American competitiveness globally and providing individuals and their families a more secure future in these changing economic times."

ACE has long led the national movement to recognize and promote adult learning in higher education, from initiatives for returning World War II veterans to the GED® test and other programs that evaluate military and corporate training and courses for college credit recommendations.

*******

Eastern Connecticut State University is the state's public liberal arts university and serves approximately 5,600 students each year on its Willimantic campus and satellite locations. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.

Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents, and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy. For more information, please visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on Twitter @ACEducation.

Based in metropolitan Detroit, The Kresge Foundation is a $3.1 billion private foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations through its support of nonprofit organizations working in its seven program areas: Arts and Culture, Community Development, Detroit, Education, the Environment, Health, and Human Services.  Fostering greater access to and success in postsecondary education for low-income, minority and first-generation college students is the focus of Kresge's Education grantmaking. In 2011, Kresge awarded more than $22 million in grants to support higher education in the United States and South Africa, with half benefiting U.S. community colleges.  For more information, please visit the Foundation website: www.kresge.org or follow @kresgedu.