More than 80 college presidents, including several from Massachusetts, gathered at a White House summit Thursday, each bearing promises about what they will do to increase access for low-income and minority students.

The meeting was part of an effort by President Obama and Michelle Obama to push educators to address the lack of opportunity for many young people who are short of money or preparation for college.

President Obama singled out Boston’s Bunker Hill Community College for pledging to help more incoming students catch up on their academics the summer before freshman year. Bunker Hill said it would double the size of its intensive summer English and math program to serve at least 900 students a year.

The presidents of Northeastern University, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and Amherst College also attended the summit.

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Joseph Aoun, Northeastern president, said his university has invested $7 million to fund 150 full-tuition scholarships in 2014 for Boston public school graduates from low-income families who live in neighborhoods surrounding the university’s main campus. That is 30 more scholarships than in 2013.

 

The Boston Globe