There is something exciting about being in an environment in which it's really cool to be smart.

Rich kids work hard. Most black kids aren't working hard enough.

I began to understand the challenges that first-generation college students and students of color have in college.

It is part of the work of education to have substantive relationships with your students.

In life sciences, we find a reasonable balance between men and women. In engineering and computer science, we have a major problem. A very small percentage of women will be in computer science.

I wanted to find ways for colleges and universities to become involved with public schools to help young people prepare for college.

My mother was an English teacher who decided to become a math teacher, and she used me as a guinea pig at home. My father had been a math teacher and then went to work at a steel mill because, frankly, he could make more money doing that.