St. Louis Graduates

Transforming Lives through
Postsecondary Education Equity

Who We Are

St. Louis Graduates is a collaborative network of K-12 and higher education, youth serving non-profit organizations, business and philanthropy committed to eliminating equity gaps in postsecondary educational attainment for low-income students and Black students.

CO-CHAIRS

Trent Ball
Assistant Vice President for Academic Diversity and Outreach, Academic Support Centers,
Southeast Missouri State University

Melissa Findley
Executive Director, Missouri Scholarship & Loan Foundation

Karissa Anderson
Advocacy Director, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis

Scott Baier
Executive Director, College Bound

Elizabeth Bender, Ed.D.
Associate Superintendent for College and Career Readiness, St. Louis Public Schools

Alan Byrd Jr., Ph.D.
Immediate Past Co-Chair, St. Louis Graduates and Vice Provost for Enrollment Management,
University of Missouri-St. Louis

Dr. Lover LM Chancler
Assistant Professor in Child and Family Development Director of the Multicultural and Inclusivity Center
University of Central Missouri

Cynthia Curry Crim
Foundation Program Manager, Commerce Bank

Jane Donahue
Co-founder of St. Louis Graduates, and President and CEO, St. Louis Public Schools Foundation

Wendy Jaffe
Executive Director, The Trio Foundation of St. Louis

Jerron Johnson
Executive Director, Missouri College Advising Corps

Jennifer McCluskey, Ph.D.
Vice President, Student Success, Maryville University

Amber M. Mitchell, M.Ed., PLPC
Professional School Counselor, Ritenour High School

Amy Basore Murphy
Director of Scholarship and Donor Services, St. Louis Community Foundation

Michael Petersen
Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Advisors

Constance Rush
Director of Advocacy, Deaconess Foundation

Allison Williams
Immediate Past Co-Chair, St. Louis Graduates and Senior Vice President, Programs, Wyman

Laura Winter
Project Director
(314) 880-4952

What We Do

St. Louis Graduates works to make the postsecondary education system more equitable, so all students can benefit from education beyond high school.

St. Louis is one of 26 cities committed to eliminating deep disparities in educational outcomes for low-income students and students of color. The St. Louis Talent Hub is built around strategies identified in the Degrees with Less Debt research, including just-in-time academic supports and flexible financial aid. In addition to St. Louis Regional Chamber and St. Louis Community Foundation, five colleges are partners with St. Louis Graduates in the Talent Hub: Maryville University, Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO), University of Central Missouri (UCM), University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), and Webster University. In 2019, the network of partners expanded to a dozen colleges in the Postsecondary Equity Network.

St. Louis Graduates commissioned the initial Degrees with Less Debt report in 2017 to identify effective institutional policies and practices that support low-income students, first-generation students and students of color to graduate with less debt.

Join us on July 15^th for the release of the second Degrees with Less Debt report and the launch of an exciting new video series on the barriers facing low-income students and Black students and what colleges are doing to help students overcome them.

As of March 27, 2020, St. Louis Graduates is hosting weekly virtual Brown Bag Lunches for high school counselors and access advisers to connect, share resources, and learn about updates.

Click here to access registration links for upcoming Brown Bag meetings and notes from past ones.

Professional Development Institute - In partnership with EducationPlus, St. Louis Graduates annually trains over 200 area high school counselors and community-based youth advisers so they can better help students and families identify the postsecondary education program that best meets their financial needs and academic and career interests.

Registration for the all-virtual 2020-21 Professional Development Institute will go out in August!

Click the links below for materials from the 2019-20 Professional Development Institute workshops:

Teams of higher educational leaders and students are committing to end racial and economic disparities in postsecondary degree attainment. Building off of the work underway through the St. Louis Talent Hub, a dozen regional colleges and universities joined colleagues from Talent Hubs in Detroit, MI and Elkhart County, IN for a two-day Institute facilitated by the USC Race and Equity Center and launched the Postsecondary Equity Network. Learn more about the Advancing Racial Equity in Higher Education Institute and the 13 colleges that comprise the Postsecondary Equity Network.

St. Louis Graduates advocates for public and institutional policies that support access, affordability and support for students. St. Louis Graduates' advocacy efforts support the policy positions of the League of Student Advocates (formerly known as the Active Advocacy Coalition), which engages Missouri college students in advocating for higher education policies that make college more accessible and more affordable.

St. Louis Graduates is proud to be designated as a Talent Hub by Lumina Foundation and Kresge Foundation.

Why It Matters

Two-thirds of all jobs require a certificate
or degree beyond high school.

There are significant disparities in who has the training and education to access well-paying jobs and career pathways.

In the St. Louis region, there is a

16-point gap

in degrees between
African Americans and the population overall.

Only 16%

of the lowest income students complete a degree compared to 62% of those from the wealthiest families.

Transforming Lives through Postsecondary Education Equity

Transforming Lives through
Postsecondary Education Equity