On behalf of our members (corporate, institutional and individual), I would like to welcome you to the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education, Inc (PBCOHE). The PBCOHE was founded in 1970 by the late Honorable K. Leroy Irvis, who was Pennsylvania’s first Black Speaker of the House of Representatives. Our mission is to ensure that Black and other underrepresented students and professionals have equal access to higher educational opportunities in the Commonwealth.
Since our inception, we have led the charge in the Commonwealth of ensuring that the state and federal educational policies which are designed are inclusive of the needs of people of color. We offer a wide array of activities which may be of interest to you and/or your students. For example, over the years, we have awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to worthy college students of color through our annual scholarship program. In fact, we have expanded our scholarship program to include high school students. To this end, each year we award well over ten thousand dollars in scholarships.
Moreover, our Student Leadership Development Institute hosts an annual conference for student leaders of color. Students come from colleges and universities from across the Commonwealth for a weekend in October to attend workshops which focus on building and sustaining effective leadership skills, cross-cultural communication and other pertinent topics which are germane to their growth and development.
Additionally, there is the Institute for Educational Management Leadership. This segment of the PBCOHE offers annual workshops for professionals who aspire to upper levels of management in higher education. Finally, the PBCOHE is a proud financial sponsor of the Zebilla Secondary Technical School of Ghana, West Africa. And, we plan to take a pilgrimage to Ghana at the end of 2010.
As you can see, we have many activities to which you can avail yourself. We are composed of a general membership and an executive council. The Executive Council is the policy-making and planning body of the organization. It consists of elected and appointed officers as well as standing committee chairpersons. The general membership is divided into three regions: Eastern, Central and Western. Each region has an elected regional director, who is charged with conducting programs and activities that are relevant for regional members throughout the year. We welcome all those, regardless of socioeconomic background, ethnicity or skin color, who are committed to the goals and values of our organization to join us.
Again, I welcome you to our organization; and, please feel free to contact me with any ideas, suggestions, questions or concerns.
With Warm Regards,
Dr. John B. Craig President For information on Planning and Paying for College, visit: pheaa.org Education Planner
