I'm calling to order this hearing a round table of the Committee of the Whole of the Council of the District of Columbia.

I am Phil Mendelson, Chair of the Council, Chair of the Committee of the Whole.

Today is Wednesday, June 24th, 2026.

The time is 1021 in the morning.

We are in room 412 of the Johnny Wilson building.

And the subject of this round table is PR 26-741 entitled Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia, Mark Battle confirmation resolution of 2025.

This legislation was introduced at the request of the mayor on June 4th of this year of this month.

And the stated purpose of it is for the council to confirm the mayor's nomination to appoint Mark Battle to the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia for a term to expire May 15, 2030.

According to the law, the UDC is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of 15 members.

Of these, 11 are appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.

Three are alumni from either the university or one of its predecessor institutions, and one is a full-time student elected by the UDC student body.

Today's round table will serve as an opportunity for the committee to hear from constituents, students, faculty, and others with regard to the fitness of this nominee to serve on UDC's board.

The record in this matter will be open for approximately two weeks.

That is, it will close at 5 p.m.

on Wednesday, July 8th, 2026.

And sometimes we actually get a little bit of oversight as part of the process.

So with that, there were three witnesses who signed up before we get to the nominee.

Robert Vincent Branham, if you could come to the table, Manuel Jackson, if he is here, and Bill Rice.

I support Mark's nomination because of the work he has done through his public service on behalf of DC.

I realize my time is limited, but in advance, I'm requesting some grace to speak.

If I'm able to paraphrase comments by Mr.

Michael Still, too often black men are viewed or storyline by means other than their works, what they have accomplished and contributed to their community.

If I can push this a little further and make it just a bit more personal, the good works done by black men are all too often invalidated and made illegitimate.

Mark has accomplished many things in his public service.

So too, if I may self-assert, have I.

I wish there were at least one other certain council member here and other local media illuminaries present from the Washington Post, the Washington Times, the Washington City Paper, 51st News, and Citicast, DC, to hear me.

Despite having been devalued and misrepresented, I refuse to crumble and to fall to their reporting bitterness, like Mark Battle, like Kenyon McDuffie.

I remind everyone, including those who claim the victory from a low voter election day turnout of 17%.

There are over 702, 250,000 citizens in wards in eight boards of DC.

Black, white, young, senior citizens, native DC born, newly arrived to DC, progressive, liberal, moderate, conservative, Democrat, Socialist, Republican, Democrat, Statehood, Green, Independent, Protestant, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, other persons of faith or little faith, who deserve more than a seat at the table, but also an opportunity to be heard and to be seen.

We are all people of DC and deserve to be included in the progress and destiny of DC.

While there will be new leadership coming to DC, we cannot ignore our past and forget how we got here, and who sacrificed so much to get us here.

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray.

To my friend and neighbor Kenyon, I share these words.

Keep your head up and keep the faith.

Trust yourself through some, though some may doubt and defame you or lie about you, don't deal in the lies, or hate you, don't give in to their hate.

If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those to the imposters just the same, if you can bear to hear the truth, you have spoken twisted by knaves, or to watch the things you gave your life of public service to be broken.

If you can make one heap of your winnings and risk it all on one turn of pitch and toss and lose and start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word about your loss.

If you can force your heart and nerve and continue to serve in your due season long after they are gone.

And so hold on to when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them, hold on.

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue and walk with kings and not lose the common touch.

If you can feel the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run, then yours is the District of Columbia, and everything there is decent and honorable in it.

Which is more, you will forever be a real leader, a righteous victor.

Kenyon knows this, know this.

You are loved and respected not only by your family, but also by so many others who saw a better DC in you and through your civic leadership.

Like Mark and Kenyon, I am proud of my public service work and for all the people of the District of Columbia and America.

I am disappointed, good, valid, and productive public service.

For all the people done by competent and courageous black men, is made cheap and disrespected.

Having strayed just a little bit in this testimony, let me go back to the topic.

Mark's public service is extensive and impressive.

His appointment to the Board of Trustees of the University of District of Columbia is well earned and well deserved.

I urge the committee and the council to approve the nomination.

God bless the District of Columbia.

I thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Branham.

Mr.

Jackson.

Yeah.

Yeah, I yield on to that.

I never been in this room before.

I like this room better than all the other rooms.

Get to have more meetings in this room.

Um I'm here because I want to talk to the Board of Trustees of DCU.

Because I have a particular issue, because I got Medicaid, and um, Medicaid don't cover like implants.

And I know like usually, like universities, they have like the engineering engineering teams like develop like implants or like or like devices sometimes for for you know for people if they need them.

So I want to talk about that.

So I guess at the meeting, we're gonna talk to uh one of the people over there, and we get that all figured out, and um I mean really that's that's it, that's what came for.

We talk more after this.

And um thank you for the time today.

I think it's my Ford 3, but I need to.

Uh thank you.

Uh Mr.

Rice.

Thank you.

Thank you.

As you said, I am Bill Rice, and I'm testifying for myself at this confirmation hearing for Mr.

Battle to be a trustee of the University of the District of Columbia.

I want to bring, I'm here to bring to his attention and to the attention of his colleagues on the UDC board the many benefits of the planned new DC archives that is to be built at UDC.

First, some background.

The present DC archives at 1300 Naylor Court Northwest, as you well know, Mr.

Chairman, just west of the convention center, is woefully inadequate for the district's archival needs, for record storage, preservation and management, and for public access and education.

It is too small and not even close to meeting modern archival equipment and building standards.

Fortunately, the city has planned a new archives at UDC.

Designed by the architectural firm of Hartman Cox, it is slated to replace Building 41 on the north end of the Van Ness campus.

As enumerated by UDC history professor Amanda Huron in a 2024 letter to the Washington Post, state archivist Dr.

Lopez Matthews has, and I quote, a tremendous vision for integrating the archives into student academic life with opportunities for hands-on research into DC history and internships leading to jobs in the field of public history.

In addition, the new archives will attract scholars, sponsor public programs on UDC history, and promote critical examination of our city's rich national and local history.

The new archives will also boost UDC's academic profile and bring visitors to the UDC campus.

Building 41 is now empty, and the Department of General Services is to begin demolition and site preparation for shortly.

However, actual construction will apparently have to wait in the site to remain vacant due to a gap in funding.

I asked Mr.

Battle, who I've just had the pleasure of meeting, to join me, excuse me, and the Friends of the DC Archives and others in support of this major addition to the UDC campus.

With this in mind, I ask the council to confirm his nomination.

Thank you.

Thank you each of you for your testimony.

Um Mr.

Rice, would it be fair to characterize your testimony as in support of the nomination?

Yes.

And Mr.

Branham, you were in support.

Yes.

Mr.

Jackson, I don't think you actually spoke to the now about the nominee.

Uh no, no.

Sally's going to win it because it's almost here.

So I don't need to.

Okay.

And um, Mr.

Rice.

Uh I think you can maybe say a little bit more about the archives.

So the archives where it's located is uh not good for the archives.

Um why is it such a great um why would it be such a great asset to UDC?

Well, I can only microphone.

Thank you.

I can only expand on what I said.

I think it it'll just be a major boost for the university and turn in uh public uh visibility for the university, bring scholarships.

I s I think it will bring uh critical examination of our politics and government and generally open up the the university campus, the the university itself and the campus to all kinds of interesting activities, scholarly and and otherwise attract visitors to the, as I said, to the university, and uh be a major boost for that neighborhood and and the whole uh city to have an archives that's worthy of the city and also in terms of us becoming a state something that uh uh is worthy of of us being uh a state so it would help boost the uh university's profile among other things and then scholarships and and I think it could also bring money I think it'd be uh uh attract money to underwrite uh university professorships and scholars and so and publications and so forth all the kind of things that a um archives and institute of that kind does at a university and then I think you referenced this in your testimony um the um proposal for locating the archives building an archives uh building at the UDC has been around for a few years demolition I think you said is going to happen this year yes I've been told by DGS it should start shortly but construction would begin that's up in the air because of the funding gap I gather it would begin not uh in FY28 not 2700 I know right uh so um the beginning of uh the archives project is this year with well actually the beginning was with the design of the building but yes moving beyond that the beginning is this year with the demolition and then nothing happens that's my fear and understanding yes and then um there's money in the capital budget but not till 2028 um how long have you been working on this project I remember testifying several administrations uh going back to the at least the Vincent Gray administration okay so that would be 15 years yeah at least to Vincent Gray administration and I want to no and then um you've been working with an archives advisory group which actually I appointed who who has been the the leader of that group the Trudy Peterson the former acting archivist of the United States of the United States yes so there have been some heavy credentials behind looking at yes at this proposal yes and uh miss peterson is still interested in oh yes supporting the project yes so that could be a resource for the university yes she is we're happy to work with you and um uh and support your and your support for the archives okay putting her any other questions any question I have no other questions for any of you thank you thank you all Mr.

Chairman um now you got to I I just have to say that I think you asked for some extra time you got I think a minute and a half extra and we see I just want to four minutes not three minutes okay I just want to uh say that I before I entered my military service I was a student at one of the predecessor institutions DC Teachers College and I learned my and honed my skills of public service under the tutelage of two outstanding people in the District of Columbia Paul Phillips Cook and Charles Sumner Lofton and uh I just want to give that kind of uh recognition to to their legacy and to oppose the kind of hostility that comes from uh the reporting that's done locally by certain illuminars who call themselves DC uh reporters.

And uh, when actually the they're not in certain special interests who uh uh who care only about themselves and not about the people of District of Columbia.

There should be some respect for the kind of testimony that comes from Bill and comes from uh young Mr.

Jackson here, and uh that doesn't happen because too many of these so-called reporters like Alice Coma, Cudney Deal are disrespectful to people who have legacy and interest in this in this city.

And I just feel it necessary to divert just a little bit that this has been that just has to happen.

So I'm going over the testimony.

That ranked choice voting is a scam, and I am going to introduce an initiative to uh rescind that ranked choice voting and see how the local media uh respond to that, like Mr.

Aston.

I'm I'm you know, they didn't want to claim I'm that that I I know I'm diverting, and I appreciate your.

You totally are diverting.

I appreciate you.

You got your five and a half minutes, and now you're covering non-UDC stuff at a UDC hearing.

Yes, because the other interests are not going to come before this body like they did yesterday off the wall.

When people misrepresent the conversations about ranked choice voting and initiative 83 and open an open primary that was based on a lie.

It was based on a lie.

It was based on a lie, and it needs to be corrected.

And I'm going to do that if it takes my last breath to get it done.

Thank you.

Thank you, each of you, for your testimony.

I'm gonna turn now to the nominee, Mark Battle.

And thank you each of you for your testimony.

Thank you.

So this is turning into a lively hearing, Mr.

Rubeto.

Let's see what you have to say.

Good morning, Mr.

Chairman.

Good morning.

Shall I begin?

Yes, please.

Good morning, Chairman Mendelson and members of council.

My name is Mark Battle, and it is a profound honor to appear before you today as Mayor Bowser's nominee to serve on the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia.

I'm grateful to Mayor Bowser for the trust she's placed in me with this nomination, and to UDC President Dr.

Maurice Eddington for recommending me for this role.

Let me begin with why this nomination means so much to me.

I'm in many ways a son of the city.

My family has called the just the district home since the early 1930s.

Some come in here as part of the Great Migration, and others to attend Howard University.

And I am proudly a UDC Firebird.

In 1999, I earned my bachelor's degree in print journalism from UDC.

That degree and the faculty and community behind it launched my career and shaped my commitment to public service.

I went on to earn my law degree from the Howard University School of Law as a third generation Howard graduate, but it was UDC that truly opened the door.

I'm in many ways exactly the kind of student this university exists to lift, and exactly the kind of graduate it sends back to serve the district.

I've never forgotten that I'm a life member of the UDC National Alumni Association, and in 2016, the university honored me with its path with its Pathmaker Award, to be considered now as UDC Marxists 175th anniversary for a seat at the table where this institution's future is governed would be a chance to repay a debt I have carried with gratitude for more than 25 years.

What makes this institution worth fighting for is what happens in its classrooms, the clinics, laboratories.

UDC is home to more than 70 degree programs.

Its nationally recognized law school sends student attorneys into our communities to provide tens of thousands of hours of free legal service to district residents each year.

Its business school holds AA CSB accreditation, a distinction earned by fewer than 6% of business schools worldwide.

Its School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is home to the top-ranked computer engineering program among all HBCUs, and its College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Studies, environmental sciences, runs a working farm that feeds our neighbors.

UDC is a research destination for partners like NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S.

Department of Agriculture.

Its alumni sit on the bench, engineer the technology we rely upon, lead nonprofits, and serve in this very government.

This is the real promise of UDC.

Not simply to confer degrees, but to prepare the district's next generation of leaders, and to do it for students who are overwhelmingly Washingtonians, and for many of whom UDC is the first college either they or their families have known.

I would also bring practical governance experience to this work.

For more than two decades, I've advised boards, chief executives, and senior leaders across private and public serving institutions, including most recently as chief legal officer and general counsel to the board of directors of DC Water, and in senior legal and government affairs roles at PEPCO, two institutions that are central to the daily life of this city.

In those roles, I counseled executives on governance, risk, ethics, finance, and long-term strategy, among others.

Earlier in my career, I litigated civil rights cases, including education and voting rights matters for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

I worked for a Wall Street Law Firm.

I served as committee counsel to this council's committee on government operations, and I worked in senior counsel and communication roles in the United States Congress.

Today I'm a partner at the law firm of Taft Staten Halster, advising organizations at the intersection of law, regulation, and public policy.

And I've tried to give back through service on boards, including the DC Public Library Foundation Board, Georgetown Day School, where I serve as a trustee, Ingenuity Prep Public Charter School, Step Africa, where I chaired that board for several years, the Greater Washington Urban League, and the DC Chamber of Commerce.

I share this because it maps to where UDC is headed.

The university's strategic plan holds out, sets out a bold and measurable vision to become a world-class flagship university for the nation's capital and a national model for urban student success and the district's workforce and economic mobility engine.

Its goals are concrete, lifting the second year retention rate to 80%, raising the six-year graduation rate to 65%, nearly doubling the degrees awarded, growing enrollment to toward 6,000 students, and more than tripling the annual giving.

As the only public university in the nation's capital, the only exclusively urban land grant university in the country, and a proud HBCU with roots reaching back to 1851, UDC is uniquely positioned to deliver on that promise.

I will not pretend that this path is without challenge.

UDC has more talent and momentum than its national reputation yet reflects.

And realizing these goals will take sustained shared investment at a time when public resources are tight, which makes uh raising uh philanthropy, research, and partnerships essential.

One opportunity stands out to me because it goes straight to student success.

UDC remains one of the few public universities without dedicated student housing.

That gap feeds an outdated image of UDC, excuse me, as a commuter school, and more importantly, denies many students the on campus experience that strengthens belonging, retention, graduation, and alumni support.

The strategic plan calls for expanding housing capacity, and I'm eager to help turn that commitment into reality.

This is the work that I want to take up alongside President Eddington, Chairman Session, my former my fellow trustees, this council, and the mayor's office.

If confirmed, I will bring my full support, my full effort, my independent judgment, and my deep and personal investment in this institution's success.

I'm living proof of UDC's promise.

I will consider it the honor of a lifetime to help deliver on that promise for the next generation of Firebirds.

Before I conclude, I want to also acknowledge that my wife Manya and my daughter Monarch are here to support me.

So thank you, and I welcome your questions.

And I know of your work from your days at PEPCO as well as DC Water.

Uh so thank you for your interest and willingness to serve.

Um how will you measure the success of your work as a member of UDC's Board of Trustees?

I'll put that in a few different buckets.

One is certainly um enhancing the uh the student experience that goes to the student housing issue that I mentioned earlier, but also just making the campus a more vibrant and livable uh place for students, but even more importantly than that is uh student outcomes.

So I talked about um the retention rate, the graduation rate.

Um, and when I talk about the graduate graduate graduation rate, um, I want to kind of uh add a caveat that you know UDC for many years has served um for as more than a four-year institution for a lot of students.

Many students come to UDC to earn a certain number of credits that they need to change to achieve a job promotion or certification and things like that, and those are things that have impacted the university's published um graduation rate.

If a student comes to UDC with the intention of simply earning 20 credits because they need that for their job, that shouldn't be counted towards the graduation rate for a student who'd be on a four-year track.

But notwithstanding that, um, there are plenty of students, of course, who are coming there for the full education and improving student outcomes in terms of retention and graduation rates would be my highest priority.

Now you mentioned housing.

As when I said how you measure success, you mentioned housing first.

Well, I mentioned that is as part of improving the student experience.

I mentioned that UDC has a reputation as being a commuter school.

Yes.

When I attended UDC in the 1990s, it was just that for me.

I started out as a part-time student attending at night.

Um I later um transitioned to full-time during the day.

But without campus housing, it still felt very kind of transitory.

Students would come and go.

There's no life that remained on the campus, you know, even between classes or or or afterwards.

And so most universities that have a vibrant campus life, and that and that spills over into the organizations and the sports and everything that goes along with that.

Student housing is a is an important part of that.

Sure.

But this is not so much a question, maybe an argument from me.

Um the um uh what do I say accomplishing achieving housing there?

It's sort of already begun.

So the I assume you know that.

Yes.

Yeah, yeah.

So I'm not sure we're gonna be able to give you credit for that.

Uh unless somehow it falls off the rails, and then although that may be the wrong metaphor.

Um do you envision growing its growing its enrollment?

One, I think um supporting the the academic offerings and making sure that they continue to serve the needs of the district workforce and beyond, and then also uh doing a better job of telling the the good story, the true story about about UDC.

I mentioned in my testimony that the national reputation does not match the achievements um recent or or in the past.

And so I think there's um an opportunity, an opportunity to actually truly improve the academic offerings of the university, but also do a better job of telling the story about what a great value and an asset UDC is.

I think that will attract um more students.

Um I sent you some prehearing questions.

I think I did.

Yes.

I don't think we've gotten the answers.

Did you submit them to us or did you submit them to Mota?

Mota.

Are these the um the financial disclosure and all those?

Yes.

Yeah, submit those on Monday morning.

Mota, if you're listening, where are they?

I can forward that to your office.

Okay, if you would.

Um one of the questions I asked there, but I always ask at a hearing as well is um do you have any outstanding liability for taxes fees or other payments to the district or federal governments or any other state or local governments?

No.

Um do you have some sense of how much time will be required to serve on the board of trustees?

I um honestly no.

I I'll I serve on on a number of boards.

I'm used to the monthly meetings, uh, of course, the committee meetings where the the work is getting done, the the real nuts and bolts of the work is getting done.

Um I am prepared to adjust my schedule um so that I'm I'm able to contribute and meet all the meetings.

So even though you're not sure how much time the commitment will be, you are committed to give the time that's necessary to serve on the board.

I am.

I'm very um experienced with board service in academic you know, settings and otherwise, and I'm sure that I will be able to allocate the proper time and attention to UDC.

And do you know of any possible conflicts of interest?

I don't know of any at the time, but being at a at a large law firm with a number of clients, I imagine that from time to time some issues may come up.

Um, and if they do, well, the first thing I would do is um full disclosure uh to the board um of anything that's either an actual or even um potential or the appearance of a conflict, and then um recusal from both um on the board side as well as on the business side of any matter that's involving the two.

And that's an ethical obligation I have as a lawyer that I would um adhere to no matter what.

Uh give me just a second.

You were present for the testimony about the archives.

Yes, sir.

Do you have a reaction?

I think the archives are um, there's been a lot of of course in research and planning that's gone into that.

I would want to reserve judgment on um, you know, any major decisions that I would be making as a as a board member until I have an opportunity to really um dig into it further, understand the full context, uh, you know, see how uh that plan fits into the strategic plan that the board is currently following, and just um be in a more informed um place before I could you know give a specific reaction.

Uh when the mayor first uh announced that she wanted to locate the archives at the university, my recollection is that President Eddington was very excited about it.

Um I think some of that that uh excitement has dimmed a bit only because of the passage of time and uh ambivalent signals from the uh the mayor the council has been very much behind the project uh to date there's been no ask that would be a cost of the university other than perhaps um they're giving up what was building 41 uh this is not something that we've looked to put in their budget the uh cost of uh constructing the archives is in the capital budget separate from the university so I think what we're really looking for is the university being as supportive as possible um without a lot of cost as I said I'm not aware of any cost at this point uh but without a lot of cost uh but a lot of benefit to the university understood I do not have any other questions for you um I don't have any other questions for you the uh the record as I said at the beginning uh of this hearing will close at 5 p.m.

on Wednesday july 8th there's anything else you want to submit I'm not saying there is but if there is um do so by then um tentatively we're looking to schedule this uh for consideration at our July 14th meeting that sounds good thank you for your willingness to serve thank you very much uh you're excused and apparently we have a late comer who doesn't believe in signing up Mr.

Session you'd be careful I might ask if you have the time to serve good morning Mr.

Chairman I thank you for accommodating this latecomer uh but I did feel compelled to say a few words in support of mark battle um I've known Mark in his various iterations throughout the last 25 years and certainly can um uh testify to his um incredibly um devoted support for the interests of the district of Columbia um he will make uh the 15th and final appointee to the board so now we'll have a full compliment of a board members which is very important I would also point out that by and large we're a new board um only three of the 15 now have served for more than two years which is a good thing um we have uh an extremely robust and ambitious board my mantra as chairman of the board is every oar in the water and uh to date that has been the case and I'm very happy to have uh Mark's or in the water um in terms of the time it would take um spoiler alert mark you're gonna spend a lot of time at UDC if you don't know you know now um just because we're you know we're on we're on a trajectory that um uh is incredibly as you know Mr.

Chairman uh because you meet pretty regularly with the president we're an upward trajectory that's gonna take everybody doing their part so I'm excited um uh both being the chairman of the board but more excited about the colleagues who uh who I get to serve with Mark is the type of person that can eat that can bring it so uh I wanted to to say that secondly I also wanted to acknowledge the support um that you have devoted to University District of Columbia both in terms of the budget but you know more uh in in terms of the principle and things that we we're trying to achieve including archives um and so you know with student housing coming on board, uh getting archives on uh on campus, um, it absolutely will raise a profile of the university, and in turn, um almost organically, I believe, uh enrollment will increase because students can now live on campus, they understand the the energy that's been attributed to it.

Uh, and so you know, I have nothing but high hopes for the next uh few years and beyond for the University of District of Columbia.

So thank you for allowing me to to speak.

Uh thank you.

So since you put yourself to the table, uh what's your view of the archives?

Well, we you know, we've always supported, and I would say that as time has gone on, it hasn't really cooled.

We were just sort of waiting to see how um the legislative branch of the council and the mayor are going to kind of work it out.

But we've always uh been supportive of the archives and um uh certainly Bill Rice, every chance he gets, it reminds us that we uh we we want to have the archives on campus.

So I don't think you know, I don't think it's the the enthusiasm is cool.

Now that it's baked in, um, you know, we're eager to have it in and on our campus.

Uh thank you, which reminds me.

So we just voted on the budget yesterday.

We were able to restore six million of the ten million the mayor had cut.

Yes.

And um I wish it could have been more, but I think that you all went into the budget as in when the mayor uh announced it, expecting that you were just going to look at a ten million dollar cut.

We um, if I said have that, that's wrong.

It was 60 percent of it, if that's a verb.

Um we also put money in the capital budget for uh purchase of all Congress.

Congress heights.

Hopefully, the board and the president will push to make the executive make that happen.

Uh, because it's languished in the past, and um my recollection is the money we put in is um equal to what we thought was a good deal a couple years ago, and of course, land values they always go up, so it looks like it's a good deal.

You might be able to negotiate a better deal.

Just saying, um you might be able to negotiate a better deal, because I think the owner wants to sell.

And and let me let me.

And and let me again thank you for restoring that, and uh absolutely am confident in saying that you there will be a return on your investment.

Um I can't say enough good things about what's happening at UDC.

We have a paramedic program we started.

We're doing um uh external partnerships we have in a partnership with the Centure out at the old Congress High School to do a tech hub.

Um there's a lot of moving parts, and all of which are you know contributing to raising the profile and making it a first class university.

So, and you're reminding me reminding me uh the president has been working with uh DCPS on dual enrollment.

Yes in some schools, there's a partnership with Anacostia.

Uh the council's been looking to UDC to help with what I call pathways programs like nursing, child development, uh social workers, um, all that's good.

Plus, maybe it will help you with enrollment as well.

Absolutely.

So, with that, um the last thing I just want to acknowledge uh two of our senior staff members here, Annie Wadley, who you know, and uh Grady Wright, who will who came to the uh hearing today.

So lots of bodyguards from Mr.

Battle.

Uh thank you.

Uh I have no further questions for you.

Thank you, Mr.

Session.

Uh thank you all the witnesses.

As I said before, the record in this matter will close at 5 p.m.

on Wednesday, July 8th, 2026.

After I adjourned this hearing, have a second hearing to start.

The time is 11.05 a.m.

in this hearing or round tables adjourned.

Um,