President Simon Joins Higher Education Leaders at American Talent Initiative Presidential Summit

Lehigh President John Simon and the presidents of 95 other colleges and universities that have signed on to the American Talent Initiative (ATI) gathered today at the headquarters of Bloomberg Philanthropies in New York for the ATI Presidential Summit.

Funded with an initial $1.7 million, multi-year grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, ATI aims to enroll and graduate by 2025 50,000 additional high-achieving, lower-income students at the 270 colleges and universities whose six-year graduation rates consistently meet or exceed 70 percent. ATI officials say that research shows that when high-achieving, lower-income students (as measured by those receiving federal Pell grants) attend institutions with such graduation rates, they graduate at higher rates and have a better chance of attaining leadership positions in their careers.

Lehigh joined ATI in 2016 as one of the first 30 universities to participate in the initiative. Today, 96 top colleges and universities have committed to the national effort to expand college access for lower-income students.

Participating colleges and universities seek to recruit students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds; ensure that admitted low-income students enroll and are retained through practices that have been shown to be effective; prioritize need-based financial aid; and minimize or eliminate gaps between the graduation rates of students from low-, moderate- and high-income families.

“We are committed to making available to all qualified students, regardless of financial background, the life-changing experience that is a Lehigh education,” said Simon. “Lehigh is proud to be a part of this important national initiative, and we look forward to exchanging ideas with other partner institutions as we move forward with our collective goal of providing every qualified student access to high-quality higher education.”

In addition to its efforts through ATI, Lehigh has partnered with the Posse Foundation to recruit and enroll each year a cohort of 10 high-achieving, lower-income public high school students from the San Francisco Bay area. Lehigh will offer full scholarships to each “posse” of students, with the first cohort arriving at Lehigh in fall 2018.

Lehigh also announced in 2015 a financial aid initiative in which the university is committed to meeting 100 percent of every student’s demonstrated financial need. In a further effort to minimize the financial burden for students following graduation, Lehigh has also capped loans included in a Lehigh financial aid package to a maximum of $5,000 per student per year. In Fiscal 2017-18 alone, the University will support its students with $84 million in grants and scholarships.