Toomey Talks Education in Erie

"I thought the senator was terrific in terms of his understanding of the issues," Dr. Brian Dalton, vice president of enrollment and communication at Allegheny College.

Dalton was one of many top education leaders from the area at the closed-door roundtable discussion: other schools represented were Gannon, Mercyhurst, Penn State Erie, Edinboro, and LECOM.

Senator Toomey attended the event, hosted by president of Gannon University, Dr. Keith Taylor, to address many concerns. At the top of that list was lowering college debt.

"I'm really concerned about the cost of higher education and the amount of debt that graduating students are carrying with them, so we talked a little about how technology may be able to reduce costs," Toomey said.

All parties involved in the discussion seemed please by all that was accomplished.

"It was a good conversation with senators (and among the presidents) about what we're already doing together...and what we can do more," Dr. Taylor said.

The roundtable discussion yielded much thought on future reform of higher education, and is just the beginning of many, many more discussions.