George Washington University leaders discussed some of the most critical public health and higher education issues facing the world at the 2018 Milken Institute Global Conference held recently in California.
The annual May conference is a gathering of more than 4,000 leaders in business, government, science, philanthropy, academia, arts and culture. The three-day event featured discussions with GW President Thomas LeBlanc, Lynn Goldman, the Michael and Lori Milken Dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health, and Kathleen Merrigan, executive director of sustainability.
Dr. LeBlanc talked about diversity in higher education and improving graduation rates during a panel titled “Expanding Access to Higher Education.” Selective universities have traditionally been focused on inputs such as what kinds of SAT scores applicants have, however, it’s time for leaders to think more about results like college graduation rates for first-generation students, he said.
“We need to focus on our outputs, and graduation rate is the fundamental output,” he said. “In our case, we work very hard to make the students feel comfortable on our campus.”
A first-generation college graduate himself, Dr. LeBlanc said it’s important students know the people they’re living with and working with on campus often came from similar backgrounds. Universities should be doing everything to ensure students feel supported throughout their time in school, he said. Beyond keeping cost of attendance low, universities must make all students feel welcome, Dr. LeBlanc said.
To improve graduation rates, Dr. LeBlanc said universities should tackle the “low hanging fruit” of identifying students with 12 credit hours left in their undergraduate degree programs and doing everything they can to “get them to the finish line.”
“Someone who is just shy of the credits necessary is called a high school graduate for life, and that’s a penalty that is way too high, particularly when you’re within one semester of graduation,” he said.
If a selective university admits a student, it has a responsibility to do everything possible to help him or her succeed, Dr. LeBlanc said. The admissions process is a delicate balance, and the obsession with test scores and rankings over the last decade has not helped universities adequately support students.
In 2015, GW announced it would not to require SAT or ACT scores for most students applying for undergraduate admission. This move led to the most diverse freshmen class in the university’s history in 2016, which continued the four-year trend of an increase in the median unweighted academic GPA. This provided evidence that the admissions process could be improved with less emphasis on test scores.
“I would say for decades, the U.S. News ranking created a paranoia about SATs that damaged an entire generation of students,” Dr. LeBlanc said.
Lynn Goldman, the Michael and Lori Milken Dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health, participates in a panel discussion during the 2018 Milken Institute Global Conference. (Photo provided by the Milken Institute Global Conference)
Dr. Goldman participated in a panel titled “Using Prevention to Improve Global Health.” On a global scale, the world is facing myriad public health concerns, including skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes.
“What we’re seeing is a global epidemic, that as we see development and Westernization of diets, less activity, that this is a problem we’re going to have to tackle everywhere,” she said.
While approaching this public health concern and others, Dr. Goldman said GW has started in its own backyard. The Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness is working on a collaborative project to build resilience in children facing adverse environmental conditions that can cause ill health, stress and chronic disease. The goal is to attack the roots of public health challenges in communities, including Washington, D.C.
There are significant health disparities in Washington, D.C., neighborhoods, even around different Metro stops in a single community, Dr. Goldman said.
Public health also is intertwined with climate issues. Global agricultural practices and lifestyle behaviors like driving cars are harmful to the planet and individual health, she said.
“Those very activities that make our lives more convenient. Whether it’s air conditioning indoors or lack of exercise, also contribute to climate change,” she said.
It’s important that leaders make cities more walkable and bikeable to combat some of these concerns, Dr. Goldman said. D.C. has done this in some areas but not equally in every community.
Dr. Goldman additionally moderated a panel titled “Mental Health and the Next Generation.”
Dr. Merrigan led a panel titled “Meat and More: The Future of Protein,” which focused on alternative protein sources. Beef is no longer the standard fare on the American dinner table, she said, as alternatives like test tube-grown meat will increase consumer choices and improve sustainability in the future.
