DALLAS - Bluefield State College's Vice President of Financial and Administrative Affairs, Shelia D. Johnson, recently graduated from an unprecedented Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Summer Institute, held July 21-23, in Dallas, Tex. The Institute convened chief financial officers from 50 HBCUs around the nation for a meeting to assess the financial challenges facing HBCUs and to work toward solutions. The purpose of this 15th Annual Summer Institute, sponsored by Nissan and Educational Testing Service, was to ensure that HBCUs thrive in the 21st century, at a time when many higher education institutions are facing economic challenges.

The 2003 Nissan-ETS HBCU Summer Institute served as a resource to present HBCUs with the necessary tools to assess viability in a competitive marketplace. This was an opportunity for HBCU CFOs to share ideas, work together, and establish a strong foundation for future cooperation, as well as have access to expertise and consultation with global leaders in the corporate world as they prepare to assess the challenges before them and plan and enrich their future success.

"HBCUs historical objective of educating future leaders and promoting cultural collaboration to effect positive change in the community is a goal that Nissan shares," said Nissan Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration, James Morton. "We recognize that the viability of HBCUs, and of all Americans, is only as rich as the leaders we groom to perpetuate its legacy."

"HBCUs have a special challenge to remain faithful to their important missions while meeting the demanding requirements of administrative and financial management," said ETS President & CEO, Kurt Landgraf. "ETS's own mission is to help advance quality and equity in education, and we are honored to be a part of the Nissan-ETS HBCU Summer Institute partnership, contributing not only to the future of HBCUs, but to the future of our nation."

"70 percent of all African American college graduates in the U.S. attended an HBCU. The proportion of HBCU degree awards at the post-baccalaureate level have tripled in the last 30 years," said Dr. Norman Francis, President of Xavier University of Louisiana and Chairman of the HBCU Summer Institute. "In order to maintain and improve this contribution, we must equip ourselves with the financial direction to sustain success."

For more than a decade, Nissan and ETS have found value in helping to foster the growth and development of faculty and administrators at these essential institutions. Both organizations value the legacy and the contributions HBCU graduates make to the economy and society.

ABOUT NISSAN

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.nissanusa.com or contact the corporate media line at 310-771-5631.

ABOUT ETS

With estimated consolidated revenues of $700 million for FY2002, Educational Testing Service (ETS) is the world's largest private educational testing and measurement organization and a leader in education research. The company is dedicated to serving the needs of individuals, educational institutions, and government bodies in nearly 200 countries. ETS develops and administers more than 12 million tests worldwide. For more information, access the ETS Web site at www.ets.org.

ETS also has two subsidiaries: Chauncey Group International, www.chauncey.com, the leading provider of certification and licensing examinations for professionals, businesses, and government agencies; and ETS International BV (Europe), www.ets.org/etseurope/index.html. Headquartered in Utrecht, the Netherlands, ETS's newest subsidiary now makes the world-class products, services, and resources of ETS more readily accessible to the European education and training community.

August 25, 2003

Submitted by Kristi May
ETS, Strategic Communications