June 25, 2021 | Issue # 190
The summer has just started, but I know your plans for the fall are solidifying. Some colleges will be fully in person; some will be a mix of online and in person. Some colleges are requiring vaccinations and some aren’t. You have spent the last year-and-a-half making tough decisions with limited and constantly changing information. But, as you know, making tough decisions is a big part of the job. The decisions you make won’t always be popular, but trust your instincts. If you are putting your students first, it’s hard to go wrong.
As we move into July, a new board term starts at AACC. I’d like to thank Dr. William Serrata for his excellent service as board chair during this past year. It was a year of challenges, but his leadership never wavered. Dr. Richard Rhodes begins his term as board chair on July 1. I look forward to working closely with Dr. Rhodes and the rest of the AACC Board of Directors over the next year to continue to advance AACC’s mission.
House Ways and Means Committee Democrats have introduced a bill that would modernize and reauthorize Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs, including the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT). Learn more in CC Daily.
“Investing in the Value of People”
Even as budgets strain, community colleges make professional development a priority. Read about it in the latest issue of Community College Journal.
AACC, in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF), recently announced the three winning teams of the Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC). In first place was the team from Pasadena City College with its Nano-Bioconjugate Immunotherapeutic project. The team from Borough of Manhattan Community College came in second place with its Designing Virtual Reality Application for Autistic Children project. And in third place was the team from Austin Community College with the project OASIS – the Officer Aptitude & Stress Information System. Congratulations to the winning teams and all the finalists! Learn more here.
On June 14, I convened a virtual dialogue with Secretary of Labor Mary Walsh and several of our member presidents to discuss some of our great workforce development programs and how we can support the Department of Labor’s work. In attendance for the meeting were the following CEOs: Bryan Albrecht (Gateway Technical College), Ken Atwater (Hillsborough Community College), Pam Eddinger (Bunker Hill Community College), Sue Ellspermann (Ivy Tech Community College), Aaron Fichtner (New Jersey Council of County Colleges), David Harrison (Columbus State Community College), Curtis Ivery (Wayne County Community College District), Alex Johnson (Cuyahoga Community College), Anne Kress (Northern Virginia Community College), Joe May (Dallas College), Andrea Mayfield (Mississippi Community College Association), Eloy Oakley (California Community Colleges), Annette Parker (Southcentral Community College), Bill Pink (Grand Rapids Community College), Richard Rhodes (Austin Community College District), William Serrata (El Paso Community College), and Sherry Zylka (Big Sandy Community and Technical College). AACC Senior Vice President of Workforce and Economic Development Jen Worth was also a participant.