News Release

OPM Director Meets with Black Undergraduates to Promote Public Service

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James today told students from several Historically Black Colleges and Universities that almost any type of job imaginable is available in the federal government.

"The skills and abilities you have are the skills and abilities you can give to your country," James told the standing-room-only audience in the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building, OPM's headquarters. Some of the students in attendance came from Hampton University and Maryland Eastern Shore.

During today's outreach event to the minority community, one of many planned for 2003, James observed the eager, young faces in the audience and fondly recalled her days at Hampton Institute, renamed Hampton University, where she received an "education in life" that prepared her for a career in public service.

James, an African-American, is President Bush's chief advisor on federal human resources issues.

Also attending today's meeting was Ambassador Leonard Spearman Sr, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is the first former head of an Historically Black College to hold his current post, which, he said, illustrates President Bush's commitment to equality and opportunity.

James noted that African-Americans today have opportunities in the corporate world that were non-existent when she graduated, making it imperative for the government to actively recruit and compete with the private sector for the next generation of leaders. OPM's decision to enhance the Presidential Management Intern Program and make it more accessible and attractive to minority students will aid in this competition. The PMI Program is the government's premier intern program.

James offered OPM's contributions to the overall recruitment effort, which was followed by a demonstration of the USAJOBS online job-search network (www.USAJOBS.opm.gov). James said OPM is working to improve and simplify the process for finding and applying for federal jobs, adding that the agency's human resource professionals are available to applicants who need assistance navigating the process.

James has held similar outreach meetings with other minority groups, including representatives of Asian-Pacific Islanders and Hispanic Association Colleges and Universities. Hispanic-Americans remain the only underrepresented minority in the federal government. OPM is working on various plans, including enhanced outreach and communications strategies with media and Latino organizations, to increase Hispanic representation in the federal government.

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OPM oversees the federal work force and provides the American public with up-to-date employment information. OPM also supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.

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