MEMORANDUM

On behalf of the members of the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the staff of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), I am inviting you to attend our 2008 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference. The conference will provide an opportunity to discuss issues of particular importance to the HBCU community within the context of Presidential Executive Order 13256. President Bush is scheduled to issue a proclamation honoring America's HBCUs designating September 7-13, 2008 as National HBCU Week and Congress will pass a resolution honoring the significant contributions which HBCUs have made to the nation.

This year, we would like to continue with the tradition of encouraging the HBCU community, federal agencies, organizations, corporations, and foundations to schedule activities in celebration of this important occasion. This activity can take the form of a symposium, a community service project, or other events designed to highlight the success of these institutions. The theme for this year's conference is "HBCUs: Established to Meet a Need, Evolving with the Times, Essential for Today and Tomorrow."

The conference will be held September 7-10, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. Over 600 representatives from the HBCU community, federal agencies, corporations, and foundations are expected to participate in discussions exploring issues of particular interest to the Black college community. We have included special sessions for HBCU Presidents and Chancellors, Board of Trustees, Title III/Title IV Administrators, HBCU Alumni Associations, and Student Government Association leaders, to attend and participate in both plenary and concurrent sessions.

There is no fee for conference participation; however, there are space limitations and pre-registration is therefore strongly encouraged. A block of rooms for this event has been reserved at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill at the rate of $249.00 per night for single occupancy and $274.00 for double occupancy, plus 14.5 percent state and local taxes.

Please make your hotel reservations directly with the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill by calling 1-800-233-1234 or 202-737-1234. To receive the preferred government rate, you must identify your affiliation with the U.S. Department of Education--HBCU Conference. *Important: THE CUT OFF DATE FOR MAKING HOTEL RESERVATIONS IS AUGUST 11, 2008. Reservation requests received after the cut-off date will be based on availability at the hotel's prevailing rates.

To ensure your participation, please complete and return the enclosed pre-registration form to our office by August 25, 2008. This form may be faxed to (202) 502-7879 or 7852, or you may mail your registration form to 1990 K Street, N.W., Suite 6131, Washington, D.C. 20006. If you have any questions, or need further assistance, please contact ReShone Moore, Ph.D., our conference coordinator, on (202) 502-7893 or via e-mail at reshone.moore@ed.gov.

It is my hope that you will plan to attend this event and to schedule an activity in celebration of this special occasion. We deeply appreciate your consideration of this request and your continued support in assisting us with implementing this important expression of Presidential Executive Order 13256.

Attachment:
Conference Pre-Registration Form MS Word (28K) | PDF (21K)