Dive Brief:

• More than 100 college and university presidents are gathering in Washington, D.C., to meet with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on expanding higher education opportunities. 
• Nonprofit and business leaders have been invited to the day-long summit, which ties into Michelle Obama's effort to encourage low-income students to apply to college and the president's push for affordability.
• The summit is part of an effort to use the president's "convening authority" to force change, rather than relying on slow — and sometimes hopeless — legislative efforts. 

Dive Insight:

Gene Sperling, the administration official who helped organize this summit, told the Washington Post that it is not for show or for hollow pledges:  "We made crystal clear that we are not doing a conference to do panels for panels’ sake or to talk about what everyone thinks they are already doing good. We made clear we are doing this to change the world by changing the paths of young people’s lives."