The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) will be hosting UNITE 2022, a summit focused on improving HBCUs, June 12-16.
The event – set to take place at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway – is centered on “Delivering on the Promise of Black Higher Education.” The summit will be held in person – for the first time since 2019 – but will have participation opportunities for those unable to travel to Atlanta.
Registration for the event is open.
Notable leaders in the realm of Black higher ed who are scheduled to attend include: Dr. Dietra Trent, executive director of The White House Initiative on HBCUs; Dr. Jim Shelton, chief investment partner, Blue Meridian Partners; Melonie Parker, chief diversity officer, Google; Byna Elliott, managing director and head of Advancing Black Pathways at JPMorgan Chase; Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, president of Complete College America; Dr. Ivory Toldson, Howard professor and national director of education innovation and research, NAACP; Nicole Lynn Lewis, founder, Generation Hope; Dr. Jamal Watson, of Diverse: Issues In Higher Education and professor at Trinity Washington University; and Dr. Eddie Cole, UCLA professor and author of the award-winning book The Campus Color Line.
Edward Smith-Lewis, UNCF vice president for strategic partnerships and institutional programs, said he sees UNITE 2022 as a homecoming for those committed to HBCU transformation.
“UNITE 2022 is one of our most important platforms to propel the growth and strengthening of Black colleges and universities,” Smith-Lewis said. “Our institutional partners join UNITE to accelerate new and existing initiatives designed to secure their long-term sustainability.”