HU Welcomes U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings

Hampton, VA -U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will give the keynote address at the Hampton University 32nd Annual Honors Day Celebration on March 17 at 1:30 p.m. in Ogden Hall. The theme of this year's program is "Honors @ HU: Thrust Forward, Prepared to Serve."

Spellings is the first education secretary to be a mother of school-aged children. She helped create the No Child Left Behind Act in order to help students rise to grade level or better in reading and math by 2014.

Spellings is working to ensure that every young American has the knowledge and skills to succeed in the 21st century. She has been a leader in efforts to make education more innovative and responsive and has supported teachers with new financial incentives for gains in student achievement and parents with new educational choices and options. She announced new rules to ensure that students with disabilities and English language learners are educated to the highest standards.

Spellings is leading the effort to pass President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative, which would strengthen math and science instruction and encourage high schools to offer more rigorous and advanced coursework. She worked to implement Academic Competitiveness and National SMART grants, which are providing millions of dollars to low-income students who major in math, science, or critical foreign languages.

In April 2006 on the White House South Lawn, Margaret Spellings took a photo with President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and HU alumna Kimberly Oliver as she was named the 2006 National Teacher of the Year.

In addition to Spelling's speech, approximately 50 Hampton University student awards will be presented. Among them are the Honors College Special Benefactor Scholarship, departmental honors, honor society awards and the President's Cup. The President's Cup is awarded annually to a senior who demonstrates outstanding leadership skills, community service, and academic achievement.

For more information, please call the HU Honors College at (757) 727-5076.