By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
MIAMI — In any graduation season, Yale, Harvard, West Point and the like inevitably make the list of powerhouse commencement ceremonies that attract a revolving door of American presidents in cap and gown.
John Adkisson for The New York Times
Eduardo Padrón has been at Miami Dade College for 40 years and became president in 1995.
Doug Mills/The New York Times
President Obama waved as he arrived on stage to deliver the commencement address at Miami Dade College on Friday.
Yet a community college in Miami with no trace of ivy and a policy of accepting just about everyone, even the hard luck cases, has managed to lure a trifecta of commanders in chief to its urban campus.
At Miami Dade College on Friday evening, President Obama delivered the commencement address, joining a roster that includes Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Over the years, Jimmy Carter, the elder President Bush and Gerald R. Ford have stopped in for round-table chats as have an assortment of first ladies, foreign presidents and cabinet members.
So how is it that an open-admission college that embraces academically risky students carries such cachet?
“We call it a dream factory,” said Eduardo J. Padrón, the college’s president since 1995. “We give people who ordinarily wouldn’t have the opportunity a second chance.”
The college’s demographics make for political catnip. Presidents and other members of the nation’s elite want to align themselves with an institution that has had an amazing run of success stories among its Hispanic and black students. “If we want to win the future,” said Hannah M. August, a White House spokeswoman, “we need to outeducate our global competitors, and schools like Miami Dade are helping us lead the way.”
continua:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/30/us/30dade.html?ref=lizettealvarez
