KEENE, N.H. (AP) ”“ The president of Keene State College is participating in a White House summit exploring how to increase college completion, particularly for first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students.

Anne Huot was set to join President Barack Obama and others Thursday at the White House College Opportunity Summit. The conference brings together colleges and universities, business leaders, nonprofit groups and others working to support more opportunities for students.

More than 40 percent of Keene State students are the first in their families to attend a four-year college. Huot said one of her main responsibilities is to make education accessible to a wide variety of potential students.

As part of the White House effort, Keene State has committed to increasing the number of STEM ”“ for science, technology, engineering and math ”“ graduates by 50 percent by 2019, Huot said.

Beyond strengthening STEM education, the White House goals include increasing the number of career-ready college graduates; getting more students college-ready; and improving access to counselors.

Keene State is also implementing a state-funded program in fall 2015 to try to improve retention rates in STEM fields. That program focuses on biology, chemistry, computer science, geology, mathematics, and physics; these departments also contribute to the training of a large number of science teachers in New Hampshire.

“As the president of a public college, one of my main charges is to make an education at Keene State College accessible to a wide variety of potential students who exhibit the drive and perseverance to earn a college-level education,” Huot said.

Obama is expected to announce new steps on how the administration is helping to support these actions, including $10 million to help promote college completion and $30 million for an AmeriCorps program to increase low-income students’ access to college.

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