Northwest Education Law Blog : Northwest Education Lawyer & Attorney : Williams Kastner Law Firm : Tacoma, Seattle, Portland

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On February 26, 2010, President Obama renewed the White House’s Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (“HBCUs”) by issuance of an executive order. President Obama introduced the executive order during a speech in the East Room of the White House.
He credited the initiative, which originated with President Carter and has been renewed by each administration since, with the creation of “cradles of opportunity” for diverse students.

The purpose of the order is to “increase the capacity of HBCUs to provide the highest-quality education to a greater number of students” and to improve HBCUs’ capacity to serve five core tasks:

• strengthening the capacity of HBCUs to participate in Federal programs;

• fostering enduring private-sector initiatives and public-private partnerships while promoting specific areas and centers of academic research and programmatic excellence throughout all HBCUs;

• improving the availability, dissemination, and quality of information concerning HBCUs to inform public policy and practice;

• sharing administrative and programmatic practices within the HBCU community for the benefit of all; and

• exploring new ways of improving the relationship between the Federal Government and HBCUs.

In addition, the executive order establishes the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs, to be comprised of up to 25 presidential appointees to “advise the President and the Secretary on all matters pertaining to strengthening the educational capacity of HBCUs.”

According to a White House press release, there are 105 HBCUs in the United States serving some 300,000 students. Notably, President Obama’s FY 2011 budget also includes $98 million in new funds to HBCUs, $20.5 million to the HBCU Capital Financing program, and $103 million dedicated to a science and technology workforce program at the National Science Foundation, targeting undergraduates at HBCUs as well as historically Tribal and Hispanic colleges and universities.

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On February 24, 2010, President Obama nominated Goodwin Liu to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit serves as the federal appellate court for federal court litigation in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii.

Gordon Liu is currently an associate dean and law professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Professor Liu’s resume includes a clerkship for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and another clerkship with Judge David Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

In addition, Professor Liu previously served as a special assistant to the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and a senior program officer for higher education at the Corporation for National Service. His scholarship has earned him a multitude of accolades, including the Education Law Association's Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law in 2007. Professor Liu served on the education policy and agency review teams during the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition.

Professor Liu’s background in education law and policy would make him a pivotal figure on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and could have a profound impact on education law jurisprudence for years to come. The Washington Post reports that Professor Liu is a controversial figure to some, by virtue of his criticism of “conservative legal theories” and his opposition to the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito’s nomination.

Also on February 24, President Obama nominated the Honorable Robert N. Chatigny to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
 

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The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the rising cost of tuition and on the ramifications of student loan debt. According to the Wall Street Journal, student loan debts are among the ”most toxic” of debts because, unlike other types of debt, student loan debt is “virtually impossible” to discharge. Although loan terms and interest rates are disclosed, many students struggle to meet their debt obligations and face spiraling costs due to default charges and compounding interest rates. “Only 40% of student-loan debt is actively being repaid” according to Wall Street Journal source, Mark Kantrowitz of FinAid.org. There is ongoing discussion of reform to allow for loan forgiveness or to create more manageable methods for loan repayment. President Obama addressed the challenges of student loan debt during his State of the Union Address: “I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are a career pathway to the children of so many working families. To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer-subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Instead, let’s take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants. And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only ten percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after twenty years – and forgiven after ten years if they choose a career in public service. Because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college.” The White House website has recently joined the discussion, as have other websites. The Northwest Education Law Blog recently reported on proposed student lending reform pending before the legislature.