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Sept. 27, 2005

U.S. Secretary of Education Appoints Trinity Professor to

Commission on the Future of Higher Education

SAN ANTONIO - U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has appointed Arturo Madrid, the Murchison Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the department of modern languages and literatures at Trinity University, to the newly formed National Commission on the future of Higher Education. The commission is charged with developing a comprehensive national strategy for postsecondary education that will meet the needs of America's diverse population and address the economic and workforce needs of the country's future.

"It is time to examine how we can get the most out of our national investment in higher education," said Ms. Spellings in announcing the new commission. "We have a responsibility to make sure our higher education system continues to meet our nation's needs for an educated and competitive workforce in the 21st century."

"Higher education issues have not been at the center stage of policy matters in recent years and we need to have them at the center again," said Professor Madrid regarding his appointment. "Higher education has been conceptualized as a private good and, by extension, restricted to those who wish to pay the price. Are we to deny higher education to persons who are unable to afford it? These are vital matters that need to be addressed at the national level, and I'm pleased Secretary Margaret Spellings has proposed to do so," he added.

Professor Madrid has had a long and distinguished career in higher education. He was the founding president of the Tomás Rivera Center, the nation's first institute for policy studies in Latino issues, as well as founding president of the National Chicano Council for Higher Education.

He has served on the boards of some of the country's most prominent organizations including The College Board, the Association for the Advancement of Higher Education, the National Science Board's Commission on Pre-College Education in Science, Mathematics and Technology, and the National Standards Commission in the Arts.

In 1996 he received the Charles Frankel Prize, the National Endowment for the Humanities highest honor, from President Bill Clinton.

Currently Professor Madrid serves as a member of the board of directors of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, which issues the bi-annual National Report Card on Higher Education.

Trinity University, founded in 1869, is one of the nation's top private undergraduate institutions. Noted for its superior academic quality, outstanding faculty, and exceptional academic and residential resources, Trinity is committed to the intellectual, civic, and professional preparation of its students.

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