Each May, I share what I am doing on the national level to further LBCC’s mission in what is now my annual spring report of regional and national activity.

As a reminder, though we are a community college, a national reputation and the resulting relationships are vitally important. Especially during these turbulent times, supporting LBCC’s nationally prominent role helps build awareness of our college as a resource for future partners and grads, involves Oregon in national discussions that affect us locally, allows us to access opportunities and funds that we otherwise might not have knowledge of, and broadens the base of LBCC allies and supporters nationwide.

To that end, this year, here is an overview of my activities on a regional/national level on behalf of LBCC. Please note that many of these activities were funded by external partners to help defer LBCC’s costs, and/or brought in additional resources due to my involvement.

  • American Association of Community College activities:
    • Presidents Academy Executive Committee: Last year, I was appointed by American Association of Community Colleges CEO Dr. Walter Bumphus to a three-year term representing LBCC and Oregon on the President’s Academy Executive Committee. In July, I facilitated a session and served as a respondent on two panels, speaking about both crisis management and rural equity. Also, my spouse was the co-facilitator of a spouses and partners track during the presidents’ meetings, helping this important group learn about ways to support presidents and colleges.
    • AACC Advocates in Action: I remain an active participant in the Advocates in Action group, convened by AACC’s Government Relations team. We convened in September for visits with legislators and policy advisers in Washington, D.C. During that gathering, I facilitated a panel presentation, and also led a session including Rep. Chavez-DeRemer while in the Capitol. As a relatively new legislator, this was the Congresswoman’s first set of public remarks to community college leaders, and she was very well-received.
  • ACCT Activities: The American Association of Community College Trustees (AACC’s “sister” organization”) is another important national group for LBCC’s visibility. In February, I accompanied LBCC staff and our SLC President to the U.S. Capitol to meet with community college leaders and members of our congressional delegation as part of the National Legislative Summit. Recently, I was appointed to ACCT’s review committee for their equity award. Also, I have been a leading contributor to ACCT’s ongoing internationalization efforts, planning to host a visiting delegation from Indonesia and exploring connections with colleges in India.
  • LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education: I remain one of few Oregon members in this organization and am the only Oregon community college president participant.
  • National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3): I joined the NC3 Leadership Summit in July, connecting with manufacturing industry partners and education leaders. With a group of LBCC leaders and community partners, we proudly hosted our most successful National Signing Day event in April 2024. Over 90 students signed their intent to participate in one of LBCC’s CTE programs, and it was great to attend the event, where $10,000 in scholarships were awarded. I was especially pleased that many of this year’s signees were from our rural high schools. I also plan to attend this year’s Leadership Summit, which is free for LBCC as a Leader School. I am bringing two LBCC leaders along with me to facilitate our K-12 and industry connections through this network.
  • Global Education Activities: Global education remains an area of potential enrollment growth for LBCC. I attended the annual meeting of the Community College International Development organization, and will be working to explore ongoing exchange opportunities with partner institutions. I will also be supporting our study abroad program in Costa Rica in June, and meeting with consulate staff while in San Jose to encourage them to send students to LBCC. Also, as mentioned, I have been planning to host a delegation of Indonesian education officials in June, but that visit has been postponed due to logistical challenges in Indonesia. We are hoping to host them next year, and also reaching out to be considered for hosting a delegation from India. Finally, with LBCC Dean Katie Winder, I am leveraging my global connections to get LBCC included in the State Department’s Community College Initiative program, hosting a group of 15 international students per year to earn certificates in our CTE programs.
  • Higher Education Research and Development Institute: I am an active member of the national advisory board for this group, which pairs community college and corporate leaders together in “think tank” sessions aimed at improving services to students. As a panelist and session chair, I have been able to make great connections to corporate leaders in the burgeoning educational technology space, and have used those to leverage additional partnerships (and sometimes lower costs) for the college. This year, I was part of a professional development committee which brought an Artificial Intelligence expert to our meeting to talk with presidents about AI and education.
  • Lumina Foundation: In spring 2022, I spearheaded LBCC’s application for the Lumina Foundation Community College Marketing Challenge, a national million dollar prize for colleges attempting to increase adult enrollment. Though LBCC was not selected as a finalist, we did receive two additional pools of grant funding in 2022-2023 ($50,000 and $100,000) for recruitment of adult students. Virginia Mallory’s team led this funding request and the outreach that the grants provided. The tangible results will include a new website launch later this year, including a virtual campus tour. Grant funding will end later in 2024, but our team is applying for additional marketing funds to use Instagram for student recruitment.
  • AAWCC Leaders Institute: Last year, I presented virtually on governance and community college legal issues at the American Association of Women in Community College Leaders Institute. LBCC has a strong local chapter of AAWCC and I am pleased for us to have this exposure on the national level. This year, I will also present to the group during their institute in Austin.
  • University of Maryland Global Campus: Since 2022, I have served on the advisory board for the UMGC’s doctoral program. Because this program helps develop future leaders for community colleges, I readily agreed. I have learned a lot from colleagues on our virtual advisory board meetings and have helped develop a course on human resource management and legal issues for community colleges. I also teach a weekend doctoral seminar in Oregon State University’s Adult and Higher Education Program.
  • National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship: My involvement with NACCE has expanded, as I was invited to join their national board in 2023. This offers LBCC additional resources, including access to a $5000 pitch competition prize as well as professional development for fundraising. NACCE brings together business, industry and technology to better engage with innovative community colleges.
  • Open LMS Connected: This year, I had an intriguing speaking engagement on the topic of digital equity and the community college enrollment crisis. My August podcast was a chance to dive deeper into these issues and their impact on democracy in our politically charged times.
  • Rural Guided Pathways: Funded by Ascendium and other philanthropic partners (including Oregon’s Ford Family Foundation), LBCC was selected in 2022 to participate in a 3-year national rural guided pathways initiative. We have already learned a lot as part of the first national cohort to expand guided pathways to rural partners. As this first round of funding winds down, LBCC has been offered a chance to participate in a second funded cohort to institutionalize our work, and we will begin that in earnest in November 2024.
  • Jobs for the Future (JFF): In collaboration with Oregon’s Student Success Center, I participated in the Student Success Network convening in July. JFF promotes connections between education and workforce, focusing on a cross-sector approach to making economic advancement more equitable and helping regions create future-ready populations. LBCC’s connection to this gets us a seat at the table with major corporate and philanthropic partners.
  • Aspen Foundation College Excellence Program: As outlined last month, I was selected to participate in Aspen’s inaugural presidential cohort. This national group meets virtually and also has two in-person, fully-funded, meetings.
  • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities: As described in a full board report earlier this year, I was elected last year to serve as a commissioner for our regional accreditor.

Impact
Each of these domains has given me the opportunity to share relevant information and updates about LBCC stakeholders, and to connect our staff with further resources and opportunities. As conferences and meetings have returned to in-person content, I have also made a point of being physically present to meet others personally, and including other LBCC leaders when possible in order to deepen our relationships with national experts at many levels.

Costs
Importantly, a number of the partners listed above help defer travel and/or registration costs; this includes HERDI, NWCCU, AAWCC and all Rural Guided Pathways activities. This funding assistance minimizes the impact on LBCC’s budget to the greatest extent possible.

Summary
As a reminder, while the college’s efforts are concentrated locally, it is also critical to have a voice at the regional and national level. Our focus will always be on serving the people of Linn and Benton Counties, but by opening relationship pathways to the wider world, we can broaden the number of resources available to assist us in that mission.