U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has named a Bowie State University professor to the board of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). Dr. Annie Leslie, Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Human Services, was appointed to serve a three year term ending August 31, 2013.
The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education is a unit within the Office of Postsecondary Education in the federal Department of Education. The Fund was created to improve opportunities in postsecondary education by supporting innovative education reforms, executing program evaluations, and sharing its findings with the larger community.
“We are pleased that Dr. Annie Leslie has agreed to join the FIPSE National Board,” said Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Eduardo Ochoa. “Her insights and expertise will prove invaluable in helping guide the FIPSE program to fully support the transformational changes necessary in higher education to achieve the President’s 2020 education goal of being once again the most highly educated country in the world.”
Dr. Leslie received her graduate degrees from Northwestern University, where she specialized in race, class and gender. She recently became one of two faculty investigators trained to conduct cancer research. Dr. Leslie studies health disparities and the impact of spirituality on cancer prevention among African-Americans. She is currently working on two academic papers on the subject for publication.
Reacting to her appointment, Dr. Leslie said, “It is an honor to serve on the FIPSE Board. Our global educational status in the world has weakened considerably at a time when our survival depends on innovation and progressive educational models and programs. Therefore, I only hope that I might assist in the progress of postsecondary education and students.”
The National Board of FIPSE also advises the Secretary of Education on priority initiatives and on the evaluation, dissemination and adoption of demonstrated programmatic improvements in postsecondary education.
Bowie State University, a historically Black college and university (HBCU) in Bowie, Maryland, places emphasis on the science, technology, teacher education, business and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education.
Photo courtesy of Bowie State University
