As a Davidson student and especially as a Davidson woman, there are few things about my college that I am more proud of than President Quillen. Stilettos and incredible blazers aside (that red one though, am I right?), Dr. Carol Quillen is a powerhouse of a president, with her visibility ranging from chatting up prospies at Summit to garnering nationwide attention with her numerous Huffington Post articles.
Since her inauguration in 2011, President Quillen has amassed an impressive record of accomplishments as Davidson’s first female president. A 45 million dollar grant from the Duke Endowment for an Academic Neighborhood, Davidson’s participation and investment in online education, and the creation of an Entrepreneurship Initiative are just a few of the many ways in which President Quillen has worked towards her goal of showcasing the distinctiveness of Davidson. And her hard work has not gone unnoticed.
Just over a month ago, President Obama named President Quillen to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans. Yes, you read that correctly, President Obama selected President Quillen to be one of eighteen members of this council. Oh wait, did I mention that she is the only president of a college or university to be included on the council?
Basically, the Council is seeking ways to better educate young Americans on the importance of financial capability, that is, how to manage personal finances in a responsible, sustainable manner. The Council will do this by building relationships between youth and schools, communities, work environments, and families with regard to financial education, and also identifying and testing effective strategies used to achieve this goal.
President Quillen, like the other members of the Council, was selected based on her ability to implement the ideas of financial capability. While each member will bring his or her own individual impression on the status of financial capability in today’s youth to the Council, it is clear that President Quillen will approach this issue from the viewpoint of equal education opportunities for all students. President Quillen believes that equal access to education is crucial to strong financial education and financial success in life, and we can see how she has already been successful in this respect. I’d like to end with a quote from President Quillen from a recent interview with Misadventures Magazine, which I think exemplifies her unique, important approach to education and finances:
“No one’s at Davidson because they’re poor. They’re at Davidson because they’re good. They may happen not to come from money, but they’re not here because of that. And I think sometimes the way we talk about Financial Aid may make people feel that way, too. ‘I’m only here because we needed 10 more poor kids.’ Which is ridiculous! They’re here because when you practice need-blind admission, turns out that there’s a lot of really, really, really smart kids whose parents don’t make a lot of money. So I think that’s something we can be clear about.”
I think it’s obvious that President Quillen is going to do amazing things through this presidential appointment, and that we at Davidson are excited for an opportunity to witness them.