Floyd urges education, future in speech

By Michael Sewall

Published Feb. 6, 2007

UM system President Elson Floyd addressed concerns about education and diversity Monday at the Life Sciences Center in his speech, "Education: The Great Equalizer."

The speech was part of the Black History Month celebration, which Floyd said is very important.

"It's always appropriate to take a moment to praise and reflect," Floyd said. "Black History Month is one manifestation."

Floyd said the point of the occasion is to commemorate the contributions everyone has made in this society. He described his background and the importance education has played in his life and the stress his parents put on the significance of education.

"They would tell us repeatedly that education is the key to success and the key to prosperity," he said. "And there is little doubt that is the case."

Floyd said the agenda in place to increase diversity in education is an agenda not completely fulfilled.

"It's an agenda we need to make sure remains present very much in the forefront of what we do in our society," Floyd said. "Especially what we do in the context of education."

Floyd asked the audience to understand the unique characteristics and strengths diversity brings to society. He continually stressed the importance of planning for the future by providing encouragement at lower levels of education and the consistency of the educational product.

"We must recommit to our children for they are our hope they are our future and they are the leaders of tomorrow," Floyd said.

Floyd discussed how society decides too early to place students in groups of who is college-ready and who is not.

"Unfortunately, the legitimate demands of our education standards are catching unprepared thousands of youngsters who through no fault of their own have not been prepared for this rigor," he said.

Floyd said it is important to respond to dynamic changes in the educational system.

"We need to make sure our curriculum that we have in place is relevant both today and tomorrow," he said.

After discussing education at the lower level, Floyd moved onto the subject of diversity in universities.

"We actually have more African-American men in prisons than we do in classrooms," Floyd said. "We also have an income level that's greater for African Americans than ever has been in this country, but it is far lower comparatively speaking than the income levels for Caucasians."

Floyd said there is still much work to be done to improve diversity in the UM system, and it depends on the leaders of various institutions.

"I think it's going to be incumbent on the leadership of our churches, schools, businesses, colleges, universities, legislatures and general assemblies to recognize and appreciate the importance of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity," Floyd said. "And do everything humanly possible to make sure we continue to improve the living and working circumstances for all Americans and understand that education is the key to success."

Floyd said the key words of his educational philosophy are high quality, high level, shared education, accountability and freedom.

"The school's primary responsibility is to provide these qualities," he said.

Floyd said there is still a lot of room for growth, but the UM system has been able to establish a presence and persona associated with the university that he believes will have long-standing repercussions associated with what administrators do.

Floyd said members of the Chancellor's Diversity Initiative are working to make an impact on the Columbia community and also in the state.

"The university has made real concerted effort to do all it possibly can to increase the number of students of color that are coming into the UM system," he said.

Floyd said affordability is a crucial element associated with accessibility to secondary education and keeping tuition and fees low is important.

"We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep our classrooms and our university open and accessible for everyone," he said.

Floyd announced his resignation from the UM system on Dec. 13. He will continue to serve as UM system president for the remainder of the academic year and until he leaves for his job as president at Washington State University.