The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program announced that Dr. Valerie Jones, Lone Star College-CyFair President, was selected for the inaugural Aspen Presidents Fellowship class.
As a member of this prestigious yearlong program, Dr. Jones joins a cohort of dedicated community college leaders who will work closely with senior staff from the Aspen Institute in developing a sustainable and comprehensive reform agenda focused on post-graduation success.
In addition, the cohort will learn about and compare their practices to those of field-leading colleges, analyze their students’ graduation and post-graduation outcomes; and advance their priority reforms aimed at delivering excellent and equitable student outcomes.
“I am honored to join in this work with passionate and innovative leaders in higher education through the Fellowship,” said Dr. Jones. “As we challenge our students to push themselves, we owe it to them to follow that same advice and push ourselves as leaders to normalize amazing experiences and institutionalize transformative learning for each of our students.”
Selected through a competitive process, the diverse cohort of fellows - consisting of 56 percent women and 44 percent people of color - are leaders at institutions collectively educating 280,000 students - from a rural college of 700 students to an urban one with enrollment more than 24,000.
“Scaled improvements in student outcomes at our nation’s community colleges requires excellent leadership,” said Josh Wyner, Executive Director of the College Excellence Program. “What so impresses me about the leaders selected for this program is their abiding commitment to developing talent from every corner of their community and to ensuring that students have rewarding lives and careers because of the credentials they earn.”
Learn more about the Aspen Presidents Fellowship program, made possible with philanthropic support from JPMorgan Chase, and the Aspen Institute at aspeninstitute.org. For information on LSC-CyFair programs, registration and events, go to LoneStar.edu/cyfair.