Why is Obama delivering a commencement address at Miami Dade College?
For at least 4,000 Americans, the most important ceremony of the day probably won鈥檛 be the royal wedding. The graduates of Miami Dade College鈥檚 North and West campuses have some pomp and circumstance of their own to celebrate: commencement, complete with inspiring words from President Obama.
The president will address the graduates and their guests at the James L. Knight International Center in downtown Miami on Friday evening, and he will receive his first honorary associate of science degree, according to a college spokesman.
As a community college 鈥� and America鈥檚 largest institution of higher education, with about 170,000 students 鈥� Miami Dade is a logical platform for a president who sees expansion of higher education as central to the long-term strength of the economy.
The venue strikes some as a savvy political choice as well.
As in real estate, choosing sites for presidential speeches is partly a matter of 鈥渓ocation, location, location,鈥� says Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. 鈥淎 state like Florida is hardly unimportant in terms of a president who chooses to run for reelection.鈥�
As president, Mr. Obama has given seven commencement addresses so far, and he will give three this season, including Friday night鈥檚 speech.
On May 18, he鈥檒l speak at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. (Typically, presidents give a commencement address at one of the service academies.) And he鈥檒l speak to whichever high school graduating class wins the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge, a contest in which the public can watch and vote for the favorite.
Among Obama鈥檚 audience Friday night are likely to be a lot of supporters. Miami Dade鈥檚 student body is about 60 percent Hispanic and 20 percent African-American, two groups that are currently much more likely to vote for Obama in 2012 than for a Republican opponent. A poll by the Pew Research Center in March found that 92 percent of blacks would vote to reelect Obama, along with 66 percent of Hispanics.
Among another group well represented at the college 鈥� Americans with incomes less than $30,000 a year 鈥� 54 percent said they鈥檇 vote for Obama.
With his approval rating running at only about 47 percent as of early April, Obama welcomes any chance to highlight reasons to be optimistic about the economy 鈥� and the college-degree holders who can make it hum.
One of Obama鈥檚 goals is to make the US No. 1 in the world again in the proportion of college graduates by 2020. To help with that, community colleges are tasked with producing 5 million new graduates in that time frame.
It鈥檚 significant 鈥渢o have the president of the United States speaking at the commencement of Miami Dade because it鈥檚 so representative of the diversity and growing stature of these [community] colleges,鈥� says Katherine Boswell, executive director of the Community College Policy Center, a national group that works in partnership with Iowa State University. 鈥淢iami Dade has always been on the cutting edge.鈥�
Community colleges have long had a mission of accessibility and affordability. In March, Miami Dade took that a step further, announcing a scholarship to cover two years of tuition for students graduating from high school this spring with a B average or above in Miami-Dade County.
Typically community colleges grant two-year associate鈥檚 degrees, along with work-related training certificates. But in the past decade, some of them have added select four-year bachelor鈥檚 degrees.
鈥淲e offer bachelor鈥檚 degrees that get people to work,鈥� says Juan Mendieta, Miami Dade鈥檚 director of communications. Whether it鈥檚 in nursing, engineering, or public-safety management, 鈥渨e feel it鈥檚 an expansion of our community college mission, providing the four-year degree to populations that have been traditionally underserved.鈥�
This isn鈥檛 the first contact the administration has had with Miami Dade. Last fall, Obama tapped its president, Eduardo Padr贸n, to lead the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. The executive order noted that Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in America, yet only 12 percent of Hispanic adults in the US hold bachelor鈥檚 degrees.
Community college leaders are disappointed that, because of political compromises in recent years, Obama had to scale back his goal from $12 billion to $2 billion in funding for a community college initiative over the next four years, says Ms. Boswell. But the White House did host a community college summit in the fall, and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, is a community college professor and advocate. Overall, the administration been a strong supporter, Boswell says, and attention from this and any White House is most welcome.
鈥淲e could always tell when President Clinton mentioned community colleges, because all the community college-[related] websites would get besieged by inquiries,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he scuttlebutt was that Clinton was sensitive to polls, and when they would poll the American people, they had very good feelings about community colleges. Since then it has only increased.... Politicians are recognizing that community colleges are representative of the American dream.鈥�
For the students who are on the verge of fulfilling their dream of a college diploma in Miami, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a graduation they鈥檒l remember for life,鈥� says Mr. Mendieta of Miami Dade. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had presidents from both sides of the aisle.... Regardless of which president is speaking, they see it as a tremendous honor.鈥�
