Framingham State University President F. Javier Cevallos became the latest college president to join the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, which recently launched a collective effort to improve how colleges and universities address immigration-related matters affecting their campuses. The Alliance will support adoption of best practices on campuses, and work in a unified manner to communicate the need for federal and state policies that create a welcoming environment for immigrant, undocumented, and international students.

“I am proud to join with my fellow college presidents from around the country in starting this important initiative,” President Cevallos said. “Qualified immigrant and undocumented students should have every right to attend our institutions without fear of deportation or other repercussions. Universities draw strength from their presence on our campuses and I am committed to doing everything I can to support them.”

The Alliance has already called on congress to pass legislation protecting DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students and other Dreamers.

The Founding group of presidents and chancellors and the institution they lead include: Leon Botstein, Bard College, NY; Sylvia Burwell, American University, DC; Angel Cabrera, George Mason University, VA; Nancy Cantor, Rutgers University-Newark, NJ; Noelle Cockett, Utah State University, UT; Shirley Collado, Ithaca College, NY; Michael Crow, Arizona State University, AZ; José Luis Cruz, Lehman College, CUNY, NY; John J. DeGioia, Georgetown University, DC; Christopher Eisgruber, Princeton University, NJ; Mark H. Erickson, Northampton Community College, PA; Drew Faust, Harvard University, MA; Jane Fernandes, Guilford College, NC; Elizabeth Hillman, Mills College, CA; Kent Ingle, Southeastern University, FL; Paula Johnson, Wellesley College, MA; Elizabeth Kiss, Agnes Scott College, GA; Thomas LeBlanc, George Washington University, DC; Dorothy Leland, University of California - Merced, CA; Patricia McGuire, Trinity Washington University, DC; Diana Natalicio, University of Texas - El Paso; TX, Eduardo Padrón, Miami Dade College, FL; Bart Patterson, Nevada State College, NV; Lee Pelton, Emerson College, MA; Carol Quillen, Davidson College, NC; M. David Rudd, University of Memphis, TN; G. Gabrielle Starr, Pomona College, CA; and Timothy White, The California State University, CA.

The Alliance is led by a Steering Committee that includes presidents and chancellors Nancy Cantor, Rutgers University-Newark, NJ; Noelle Cockett, President, Utah State University, UT; John J. DeGioia, Georgetown University, DC; Dorothy Leland, University of California -  Merced, CA; David Oxtoby, President Emeritus, Pomona College, CA; Eduardo Padrón, Miami Dade College, FL; and Timothy White, The California State University, CA.

The Alliance’s Founding Statement, Steering Committee, Founding Presidents and Membership can be found at www.presidentsimmigrationalliance.org.