ACTA Congratulates Rep. Virginia Foxx

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) congratulates Representative Virginia Foxx on being named chair of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

ACTA previously worked with Congresswoman Foxx when she was a state senator in North Carolina. Then-Senator Foxx attended ACTA’s ATHENA Roundtable Conference and spoke eloquently about the “loss of mission” in higher education. “It has lost its focus. Most legislators will not ask questions since they graduated from the institutions involved.”

But as the U.S. Representative for North Carolina’s Fifth District, Dr. Foxx asks the hard questions. Since 2011, she has chaired the Subcommittee on Higher Education & Workforce Training, where she has been a champion for reform and has challenged the effectiveness of accreditation as a gatekeeper for federal Title IV funding. In fact, former ACTA President Anne Neal testified before Congresswoman Foxx and her subcommittee at a hearing about “Keeping College Within Reach: Program Quality through Accreditation.” Among Ms. Neal’s recommendations were separating federal funding from the accreditation process and using outcomes-based assessments to improve educational standards.

“Virginia Foxx is a distinguished and effective advocate for meaningful reforms that will ensure higher education can deliver on its promise to millions of students across the country,” said Dr. Michael B. Poliakoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. “ACTA is grateful for Congresswoman Foxx’s many contributions to higher education as a public servant and as a community college president. We now look forward to working with her as she chairs the House Committee on Education and Workforce and takes up important issues of accountability and innovation in American higher education.”