Message #90 From:
NewsBot Date: January 18, 2007 06:02:00 AM
AET News Aetna Donates $50,000 to Increase Minority Student Enrollment at National Labor College and Boost Healthcare Education Program
SILVER SPRING, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Labor College (NLC) announced today that Aetna (NYSE:AET)
has made a $50,000 grant to support scholarships for minority union
members and to expand union members’ knowledge
of the fast-paced healthcare industry.
“Of all benefits negotiated by union members,
healthcare is among the most critical,” said
Susan J. Schurman, NLC president. “We need the
labor movement to stay abreast of this vast, complex industry, and with
Aetna’s support, we will be able to expand
access to this kind of information and continue to expand enrollment
opportunities to minority workers.”
The NLC is instituting several initiatives to both increase
understanding of the healthcare industry among unionists and to expand
the ranks of the college’s minority student
recruitment. This spring, the NLC will offer a course in healthcare
bargaining and will soon develop a larger series of courses in the
healthcare field as part of the College’s
Bachelor’s degree program. The NLC is also
targeting recruitment of minority unionists through partnerships with
urban community college and apprenticeship programs.
“Aetna is pleased to be able to join together
with the National Labor College to increase the labor movement’s
understanding of the healthcare industry and to expand access to its
program for minority students,” said Russell
R. Dickhart, Chief Operating Officer for Aetna’s
Government and Labor Division. “The
Healthcare Education Program fulfills an important need by helping union
leaders design health benefits programs that improve the health of their
members.”
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading
diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 29.8
million people with information and resources to help them make better
informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range
of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and
related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral
health, group life and disability plans, and medical management
capabilities. Our customers include employer groups, individuals,
college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans and
government-sponsored plans.
Established as a training center by AFL-CIO in 1969 to strengthen union
member education and organizing skills, the NLC is now the nation’s
only accredited higher education institution devoted exclusively to
educating union leaders, members and activists. The NLC became a degree
granting college in 1997. The college is accredited by the Middle States
Commission on Higher Education, an independent, regional accrediting
body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
