ACCT President J. Noah Brown Featured in PARADE Magazine's "Intelligence Report"

ACCT is pleased to share with you that ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown was the featured interview for the "Intelligence Report" in the September 20, 2009 issue of PARADE magazine. You can find the interview on page 20 of the print magazine.

The interview, titled "Can Education Boost the Economy?," gives significant positive exposure to the mission and important contributions of community colleges to American higher education and our economy.

PARADE is circulated to 33 million households within the United States.

To read the full interview, go to http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/090920-can-education-boost-the-economy.html. Read more!

ACCT President Gives Commencement Address at ACCC, Receives Honorary Degree

Yesterday, Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) President and CEO J. Noah Brown spoke to graduates of Atlantic Cape Community College (ACCC) in Cape May, New Jersey. Brown encouraged graduates to “be prepared to learn everything you can, find your passion in life, know what makes you happy, and be entrepreneurial in your outlook.”

Optimism was a clear theme at the graduation ceremony. Student Government Association President Benjamin Dailey of Absecon, 26, an Iraq war veteran who earned an A.S. in general studies with high honors, told the graduates: “Don't even worry about making the right decision. Rather, make your decision right...The only way to be happy and feel truly successful is by doing the things that make you proud.”

“Passion,” Brown said, “is a key ingredient for success and achievement.” He also encouraged graduates to move ahead in their lives with confidence, to “be an agent for change,” and to be lifelong advocates of community colleges, suggesting that they "help others understand community colleges put wings on dreams.”

Dr. Peter L. Mora, ACCC president, presented honorary associate degrees to Brown, along with Robert J. Boyer, past chairman of the ACCC Board of Trustees; The Honorable Joseph Silipena, former chairman of the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders; and H. Robert Switzer, a long-standing municipal court judge who served as is this year's Beacons by the Sea Visiting Professor.

The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States, Canada, and England. For more information, go to http://www.acct.org/.

Atlantic Cape Community College enrolls more than 6,500 for-credit students from Atlantic and Cape May counties in New Jersey. For more information, go to http://www.atlantic.edu/.

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Gates Foundation, ACCT, AACC Address Community Colleges at Ed. Dept.

Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) President and CEO J. Noah Brown represented the nation's community college trustees this morning at a Department of Education briefing in Washington, D.C. "Community colleges have never been more needed than they are now," Brown said, "but they've never been as hampered as they are now, due to economic constraints." Nevertheless, Brown said, "We are poised to make a difference."

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Senior Program Officer Diane Troyer joined Brown and American Association of Community Colleges President and CEO George Boggs on the panel, "Community Colleges: Unlocking Higher Education to Build Tomorrow's Workforce." Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) Assistant Secretary Glenn Cummings moderated the panel.

Boggs delineated the most pressing issues confronting community colleges, which include the economy, sustainability, student success, education alignment, inclusion, globalization, serving returning veterans, leadership and accountability, among others.

Troyer stressed the Gates Foundation's goals of improving graduation rates, noting that, "We prioritize keeping the door open for access to all students...but once they're in the door, we need to focus on keeping them." Troyer also spoke about the importance of streamlining K-16 education systems to encourages greater portability of credits and credentials.

Cummings said that the Secretary of Education "sees that as the economy changes, we are very much dependent on community colleges" for quality, affordable education and job-training programs.

The purpose of the briefing was to provide an overview of some of the most pressing issues facing community colleges as they try to expand their services. Audience members had the opportunity to ask questions and learn about an array of community college initiatives funded by OVAE.

Community college intiatives currently underway at OVAE include:

• Community Colleges Can: Institutions Sharing Success
• Ready for College: Adult Education Transitions Program
• STEM Transitions: Enhancing Mathematics and Science Rigor through Evidence-Based Curriculum Projects
• International Community College Collaboration

Click here to go to the OVAE community college page, which offers more information about upcoming meetings and events, funding opportunities, projects, speeches and presentations, and more, including Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's keynote address at the 2009 Community College National Legislative Summit.

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Biden, Brown to Give Community College Commencement Addresses

Dr. Jill Biden, an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College and wife of Vice President Joe Biden, will serve as commencement speaker at Kingsborough Community College this year, announced the White House on May 1.

Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York is Brooklyn’s only community college and serves approximately 30,000 students per year.

Biden will address graduates, family members, and faculty at Kingsborough on Friday June 12, 2009.

Biden, an educator of 28 years, has taught English in community colleges for the past 15 years.

Association of Community College Trustees President and CEO J. Noah Brown will be the commencement speaker at Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey on Thursday, May 21, 2009. Atlantic Cape Community College was New Jersey's second community college and serves 6,500 students in three locations.

Brown is a nationally recognized authority on community college governance, a contributor to national publications, and a speaker on a broad range of topics to large audiences. His experience spans more than 25 years in the nation’s capital working in the nonprofit sector. Read more!

Rep. John B. Larson Introduces Community College Technology Access Act

Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, along with more than 15 other members of Congress, introduced legislation that will help train our workforce for the jobs of the future and boost our economy. The Community College Technology Access Act, H.R. 2060, will open the doors of community college technology labs and training opportunities to the public in order to provide workers who are lacking key computer skills the opportunity to attain them.

Rep. Larson said, “By broadening their mission, community colleges have the potential to be a hub to train our workforce for the jobs of the future. With this legislation we are helping them fulfill their potential and boost local economies around the country.”

The legislation would provide funding to community colleges that offer technology training and open their computer labs to the public for at least 30 hours each week. Then-Senator Barack Obama included a similar idea as part of his platform during the campaign for the presidency.

ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown spoke in support of the legislation by noting, "The Community College Technology Access Act of 2009 will enable the nation’s community colleges to extend service to their communities by allowing workers to retrain or retool their computer skills. Community colleges are on the front lines in our communities and constitute economic engines that are vital to turning around our economy and promoting prosperity."

"Through this legislation, community colleges will able to reach out to those who need access to technology, realizing their mission of service and responsiveness to their communities," said Brown. "The Association of Community College Trustees is pleased to support this critically important legislation and we look forward to its passage and eventual funding by the Congress."

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