WGU Texas Advisory Board, Chancellor Among Thought Leaders at U.S. News STEM Summit 2012

AUSTIN, Texas, June 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WGU Texas' Advisory Board members and Chancellor were among the thought leaders and policy makers from education, government, and business presenting solutions to shape our economy's future at the U.S. News Stem Solutions 2012 this week in Dallas.

The leadership summit is led by  U.S. News & World Report in partnership with Innovate+Educate and STEMConnector™ . More than 2,000 attended the national event aimed at radically improving and expanding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in Texas and the nation.

WGU Texas Advisory board members Andres Alcantar, Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission; John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Educate Texas; Woody Hunt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hunt Companies, El Paso; and WGU Texas Chancellor Mark David Milliron participated in panel and keynote conversations regarding private and public partnerships, regional educational collaborations, and innovative education policy and practices.

Summit participants were charged with working toward key outcomes, many challenging educators to bring greater focus to, and improve outcomes in STEM. The leaders from Texas' online university WGU Texas were particularly interested in bringing the voice of the returning adult student into this mix.

"We have 3.5 million Texans with some college and no credential," said Milliron. "Opening pathways to high-quality STEM careers for returning students is vital to our state's economic future."

About WGU Texas

WGU Texas is a non-profit, competency-based, online university created to expand access to higher education for Texas residents. The university offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the high-demand career fields of Business, Education, Information Technology, and Healthcare Professions, including Nursing.

Established through a partnership with nationally recognized and accredited Western Governors University, WGU Texas is open to all qualified Texas residents. The university is nonprofit and self-sustaining on tuition of less than $6,000 per year for most programs, and tuition has not increased in more than three years.

For more information, visit the WGU Texas website at http://texas.wgu.edu or call 1-877-214-7011. For more on STEM and WGU Texas, tune into the WGU Texas Talks podcast with John Fitzpatrick from Educate Texas and Chancellor Milliron as they explore the future of STEM in Texas.

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Contact for media inquiries:
Jennifer Rees – Sr. Manager, Public Relations
512-225-6636 or 512-577-7641
jennifer.rees@wgu.edu

Contact for enrollment information:
877.214.7011
texas.wgu.edu

SOURCE WGU Texas