EL CENTRO COLLEGE VICE PRESIDENT SELECTED AS ONE OF ONLY 40 NATIONWIDE FOR 2018-2019 ASPEN PRESIDENTIAL FELLOWSHIP FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE EXCELLENCE
Highly-Selective Program Expanding Talent Pipeline Amid Looming Shortage of Community College Presidents
Dr. Greg Morris of El Centro College has been awarded the prestigious
Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence, a leadership program aimed at preparing the next generation of community college presidents to transform institutions across the nation to help students be more successful both in college and in the workforce.
The fellowship is awarded by the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program, an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. that aims to advance higher education practices, policies, and leadership that significantly improve student outcomes.
“The El Centro College community is proud to learn that Dr. Greg Morris has been selected, after an extensive and selective process, to participate in the Aspen Presidential Fellowship program,” said Dr. Jose Adames, President of El Centro. “Dr. Morris brings to the program his extensive knowledge and experience in higher education; the Aspen Fellowship will enhance those skills and others as he looks to his next career challenge.”
Dr. Morris and the 39 other Aspen Presidential Fellows will embark on a 10-month fellowship beginning in July 2018. Delivered in collaboration with the Stanford Educational Leadership Initiative, the Fellows will be mentored by community college leaders who have had outstanding results for their students, learn from national experts about ways to use data to make their students more successful, and learn how to create strong external partnerships with K-12 schools, four-year colleges, and employers in their community.
The Aspen Fellowship responds to a growing need for a new generation of leaders who are well-equipped to meet the challenges facing community colleges:
- Nationally, nearly 80 percent of sitting presidents plan to retire in the next decade.
- Traditionally, the path to college presidency has excluded women and people of color: Currently, 71 percent of sitting community college presidents are white and 64 percent are male.
- The incoming class of Aspen Presidential Fellows is composed of 65 percent women, 43 percent people of color and represents institutions of varying size and geographical spread.
Dr. Morris was selected through a rigorous process that considered his abilities to take strategic risks, lead strong teams and cultivate partnerships, and focus on results-oriented improvements in student success and access.
With the average community college enrolling about 14,000 students, each Fellow who becomes a president has an opportunity to improve outcomes for hundreds of thousands of students over his or her career. To date, 20 Aspen Presidential Fellows are now sitting community college presidents at institutions that collectively serve more than 250,000 students nationwide.
The Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence is supported by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, College Futures Foundation, ECMC Foundation, Greater Texas Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.