By Cyndy Littlefield, Vice President for Federal Relations, AJCU
While everyone is still in shock in the aftermath of last week’s election, we need to recognize that the sun still came up the next morning, as President Obama mentioned in his speech on Wednesday.
As the dust settles in the weeks to come, we will continue to work diligently to learn more about President-elect Donald Trump’s educational policies and plans for colleges and universities in the United States. We will also work to extend the graduate Perkins loan program, which is set to expire on December 31st.
And, we will publish our updated list of Jesuit alumni in Congress in January when the 115th U.S. Congress convenes with Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate. As of now, there will be 238 Republicans and 193 Democrats in the House of Representatives (four races remain uncalled); and 51 Republicans, 36 Democrats and 2 Independents in the Senate (with one run-off race in play). Please let us know how your Jesuit alumni fared during the election by writing to me at CyndyLit@aol.com and Mike Wieczorek at mwieczorek@ajcunet.edu.
We will continue to carry on our work in the face of new challenges, and we will forge new partnerships for higher education policy during the transition and beyond. It is important to keep an open mind as we look ahead.