U.S. universities should be able to sponsor refugee students

This article is an Op-ed by Louis Caldera, co-founder and Steering Committee Co-Chair for the Presidents’ Alliance

For this new initiative to succeed, colleges and universities should not be in this alone, but should instead partner with their local community and civic organizations on and off campus, while engaging with national partners and peer institutions similarly invested in this program’s success. Additionally, the program should be designed to encourage and make it possible for all types of institutions to participate, not just high-endowment private institutions. And of course, key implementation details, from admissions processes to sources of financial support to coordination among entities and organizations in the U.S. and internationally, will need to be determined. But the potential to meet a growing global need and transform lives is already apparent.

The world doesn’t need promising young people languishing in refugee camps without hope. The U.S. should make it possible for more refugee students to pursue the educations that will allow them to build new lives, and to do so during the critical period in their lives when full-time education is still possible.

To read the full article from Dallas News click here