Lake Area Tech President to Participate in National College Enrollment Discussion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2022

Lake Area Technical College President, Mike Cartney has been invited to serve as a guest panelist during the US Department of Education’s one-day summit called Raise the B.A.R: Bold + Action + Results in College Excellence & Equity on Thursday, August 11 in Washington, DC.  

Cartney was selected because of the ongoing commitment of Lake Area Tech to ensure that low-income students and students of color are able to enter college, thrive, and cross the stage on graduation day. Lake Area Tech College’s efforts toward moving the needle on college completion and equity gaps are nationally recognized and will provide a forum for sharing the college’s data-driven and evidence-based best practices.

During this summit, college leaders will share their successes and struggles and will serve as examples for hundreds of other colleges across the country.  Cartney will specifically address the subject of Strategies for Addressing Enrollment Declines. Lake Area Tech has seen an unprecedented enrollment incline for the past 17 years which goes against the trend of enrollment decline of colleges and universities across the county.

President Cartney said, “I am honored to be representing the community of Watertown and the state of South Dakota on such an important topic. We (the colleges) need to be diligent and innovative in our efforts to grow in numbers and provide quality education for a much needed, highly-skilled workforce.”

The event will be livestreamed from  9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at the U.S. Department of Education, LBJ Auditorium, and can be viewed on the US Department of Education & Secretary Dr. Miguel A. Cardona’s social media channels.  Cartney’s panel discussion will be held from 10:00 – 10:50 AM (Eastern time).