Louisville’s College-Going Initiative Earns Top Honor from Business Leadership
55,000 Degrees Receives 2013 Silver Fleur de Lis Award for Progress Toward Goal
February 20, 2014 – Greater Louisville, Inc. ,The Metro Chamber of Commerce, has presented its prestigious Silver Fleur de Lis Award to Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and 55,000 Degrees Executive Director Mary Gwen Wheeler to recognize the impressive progress by the city’s education movement.
55,000 Degrees was launched with the ambitious goal of increasing the number of college graduates in Louisville by 55,000 by 2020. Three years later, Louisville has reached the highest percentage of working-age adults with a college degree in the community’s history. At 41.3 percent, the city now exceeds the national average by nearly two percentage points.
Local colleges and universities ramped up degree production by 20 percent since 2010 with Louisville exceeding the national pace for enrollment growth, particularly among adult students.
“This award is testament to the great work of our staff and the dedication of our partners,” said Wheeler. “It also motivates us to push even harder to achieve our goal to have a majority of Louisville’s working-age population holding college degrees.”
Fischer, Chairman of the Board for 55,000 Degrees, has made educational attainment a top priority of his administration, with the focus on a more educated workforce attracting more high-paying jobs to the area.
The Silver Fleur de Lis Award recognizes outstanding commitments and achievements in the Louisville community and is given each year to individuals and organizations that show leadership and action to make the region a better place to live and work.
The award was presented at the 2014 GLI Annual Meeting, on Feb. 18 at the Galt House Hotel & Suites.