The 5th Annual Lecture on Multiculturalism
Wednesday, Novemeber 3, 1999
Edwards Auditorium 7 PM

Norma V. Cant¨² is the Associate Secretary for Civil Rights at the U. S. Department of Education. She was nominated by President Clinton on March 5 and sworn in on May 24, 1993.

Assistant Secretary Cant¨² is responsible for enforcing the Federal civil rights statutes that protect the rights of students to an equal educational opportunity without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. The civil rights laws extend to a wide range of educational institutions that receive Federal funds. these include nearly every school district and college and university in the country as well as propriety schools, libraries, museums , and correctional facilities.

Cant¨² considers discrimination of any form to be a serious barrier to equal access and to the achievement of educational excellence in these country by all students.he believes effective civil rights enforcement can help all persons in making the most of their individual capacities and talents. As the head of the Department's Office for Civil Rights, Cant¨² seeks to establish a civil rights compliance program directed at affording all students the opportunity to realize their educational potential from the minute they enter the classroom.