Photo of Kathy Acosta
(June 20, 2018) Dallas, TX – The National Community College Hispanic Council (NCCHC) has announced that Kathy Acosta, Executive Administrator for the El Centro College-West Campus, is participating in the prestigious NCCHC Leadership Development Program as a 2018 Fellow.
Acosta is one of 22 members of the 2018 Fellows cohort selected among community college candidates from around the country. The program is hosted by the University of San Diego (USD) School of Leadership and Education Sciences. It is designed to develop a pool of highly-qualified Latin(as)os whose career interest focuses on assuming increasingly responsible administrative positions, with the ultimate goal of becoming a community college president.
"Preparing strong leaders for the future is the primary purpose of the National Community College Hispanic Council’s Leadership Fellows Program," said Maria Harper-Marinick, NCCHC’s president. “A demographic shift is occurring in the United States, and we are preparing new leaders who can model the way for the growing Hispanic population our community colleges serve. Through this program, Fellows gain the necessary knowledge and skills they need to lead higher education into the future and positively impact the economic and civic success of their respective communities."
“El Centro College is proud that Kathy Acosta was selected to participate in this important and prestigious national leadership program. We are confident that the skills, competencies and knowledge she acquires will be a solid investment in the future of our college and its efforts to meet the needs of the diverse student population we serve,” said Dr. José Adames, El Centro College president.
Components of the Leadership Fellows Program include two residential training seminars. The first begins in June as Fellows are in residence at USD. Each Fellow prepares an individualized professional development plan and engages in a mentoring relationship with a Hispanic community college leader, and then attends the NCCHC Leadership Symposium in the fall, plus participating in online activities between sessions.
NCCHC is an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges, a national organization that has provided leadership to the community college movement for the past half-century. The council, which was established 30 years ago, works to promote the educational interests and success of the Hispanic community and emphasizes access, equity and excellence for students and staff in community colleges.
One of NCCHC’s first ventures was to offer a leadership development program, with support from the Ford Foundation. Of the original 72 Fellows, more than 15 are now community college presidents, and many others have moved to positions of increased responsibility as executive-level administrators. Since the program’s inception, more than 250 community college administrators have participated as Leadership Fellows.
Program Contact:
Ted Martinez, Jr., PhD
Executive Director
NCCHC Leadership Fellows Program
619.260.7708 |
tmartinezjr@sandiego.edu