Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber thanked the group for helping students thrive in college and beyond.
National conference at Princeton brings together educators supporting first-gen, low-income, veteran and transfer students
Staff and faculty from colleges, universities and nonprofits across the country recently convened at Princeton for a conference focused on supporting the success of first-generation and lower-income students at selective schools.
The event, held Nov. 19 to 22, was a homecoming for the FGLI Consortium Conference, which held its first meeting at Princeton in 2018. Attendees used the occasion to reflect on progress of the past six years and share innovative ideas for the future.
The 2024 conference, with a theme of “Persistence After Progress,” was the group’s fifth national conference aimed at providing leadership, fostering community, and sharing resources and best practices.
“This is an opportunity to reflect upon all that we've accomplished and simultaneously put our heads down and plan for the work that needs to get done to get us closer to our vision,” said co-organizer Khristina Gonzalez, the Bob Peck '88 Director of Princeton’s Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity (EBCAO).
Varied roles, common goals
More than 160 higher education professionals represented 60 public and private colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations and private philanthropies. While their roles varied, their work was linked by the common goal of helping all students — particularly those from first-generation, lower-income, veteran, military and/or transfer backgrounds — thrive at college and beyond.
Gonzalez said the gathering provided dedicated time to think about “what it means to create a higher education environment structured by equity, to ensure not only that students from all backgrounds have the chance to imagine expansive possibilities for their lives, but that they have the foundational scaffolding and supportive structures necessary to achieve those dreams.”
Princeton’s leadership in this work over the last several years was evident throughout the conference. The Emma Bloomberg Center was established in April 2021 to bring together the University’s growing initiatives in college access and opportunity. The center provides mentorship, academic enrichment, and community for undergraduate and graduate students through academic year and summer programs.
For the Class of 2028, 16.3% of students are first-generation college students and 21.7% are eligible for federal Pell Grants. This fall, the University welcomed its largest group of incoming transfer students since the program’s reinstatement in fall 2018, and Princeton continues to expand partnerships that support community college students and faculty in New Jersey.
In welcoming conference attendees to campus, President Christopher L. Eisgruber expressed gratitude for the group’s commitment to student success and belonging.
“I think every single one of us in this room cares so deeply about work that we do collectively to enable first-generation and lower-income students to thrive on all of our campuses and to see that students from all backgrounds are fully able to … live their dreams and get the benefit of the extraordinary educations that can make a difference,” Eisgruber said. “We want to make sure that students who work hard and have that talent are able to benefit from a first-rate education.”
The FGLI Consortium: ‘Ready to go back and do the work’
The FGLI Consortium has grown considerably since its inaugural gathering, with the 2024 conference nearly double in size. Among this year’s attendees were representatives from community colleges across New Jersey, Haverford College, Purdue University, Rutgers University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the University of Notre Dame, Yale University, the Aspen Institute, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, QuestBridge and The Opportunity Network.
Destiny Coleman, assistant director of the Hoos First Student Center at the University of Virginia, was among first-time attendees. “I’ve learned so much from people who have been working in this space for years,” she said. “This conference has really lit a fire in me. I’m ready to go back and do the work.”
Undergraduates (standing, left to right) Avi Chesler, Humnah Poonawalla and Givarra Abdullah talk to conference attendees about their experience with the Princeton Rose Castle Society.
“We are dealing with a lot of the same challenges, but we have different institutions and different resources,” said Rick Incorvati, professor of instruction and undergraduate adviser at Northwestern University’s School of Communication. “This conference helps you imagine other ways that you might approach a problem.”
Coleman and Incorvati met during a seminar on how faculty can help FGLI students better navigate college. The session featured Rebecca Carey, assistant professor of psychology at Princeton, and Mesmin Destin, professor of psychology and faculty director of student access and enrichment at Northwestern. Both professors shared teaching practices that help undergraduates feel more comfortable and confident.
The conference also included remarks by Dean of the College Michael Gordin and presentations on topics including national college access programs like the American Talent Initiative; the power of peer mentorship; summer programs as pathways to on-campus community and academic success; and supporting first-generation and lower-income students from rural communities.
Helping transfer and veteran students flourish
This year's event also included a daylong workshop dedicated to the experiences of transfer and veteran students at two- and four-year institutions. The workshop was led by the Emma Bloomberg Center's Jordan Reed, director of transfer and veteran initiatives, and Queenie Reda, outreach program associate for the Transfer Scholars Initiative, along with Alex Bustin, senior associate dean of admission.
When asked what message participants would bring back to their students, David Reeves, assistant director of the Veterans Center at Rowan College at Burlington County, said: “There are resources available to them and that the people who run these programs genuinely care and want to see these students flourish.”
Deep dives into recent scholarship and the student experience
The conference opened with a keynote conversation with sociologist and author Anthony Abraham Jack. His latest book, “Class Dismissed,” highlights the experiences of college students from different socioeconomic backgrounds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m excited to be here as part of that continued dialogue about access and inclusion, especially as we redefine and hopefully redouble our commitment to both,” said Jack, associate professor of higher education leadership and the inaugural faculty director of the Newbury Center at Boston University. Jack said his scholarly research is also personal, as he was a first-generation college student.
Sociologist and author Anthony Abraham Jack of Boston University (left) discusses his latest book, “Class Dismissed," with Khristina Gonzalez, the Bob Peck '88 Director of Princeton’s Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity.
In another keynote, Mary C. Murphy, the Herman B Wells Endowed Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University, shared research on how creating cultures that promote growth mindset practices can help improve academic experiences and outcomes.
“Growth minded instructors tend to emphasize learning and development. They suggest, or explicitly communicate, that everyone can learn. They offer the opportunities for practice and feedback. They motivate students to do their best work,” Murphy said. “Students in those environments are going to feel more supported. They're going to feel like they fit in. They're going to trust the people at the institution more … and they perform better.”
Conference attendees also heard directly from students, including Class of 2027 members Simone Acosta and Humnah Poonawalla, who are peer mentors with the Scholars Institute Fellows Program (SIFP) and work with Andy Hakim, director of college success at the Emma Bloomberg Center. “In short, our work not only helps FGLI students but can also influence the wider university community,” Hakim said, noting that SIFP’s more than 600 student members are great partners in brainstorming new academic and co-curricular programs for undergraduates.
The FGLI Consortium is a nonprofit organization led by co-founders Gonzalez; Kourtney Cockrell, vice president and regional director of global philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase in Chicago (formerly of Northwestern University); Devon Moore, senior director of programs and compliance at ScholarMatch (formerly of The University of Chicago); and April Ruiz, dean for academic equity, inclusion and success at Wesleyan University.
Previous Slide
Next Slide
Conference co-organizer Kourtney Cockrell, vice president and regional director of global philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase in Chicago (formerly of Northwestern University), welcomes colleagues. The conference was an opportunity to reflect on progress since the FGLI Consortium's first national gathering at Princeton six years ago.
