25 Community Colleges Cited For Innovation, Exemplary Practices

American Association of Community Colleges to Spotlight Winners April 23 in San Francisco

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Twenty-five community colleges from across the nation have been named finalists in a new national program designed to recognize innovation and promising practices among two-year colleges. The Awards of Excellence are sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), which established the program to align with key recommendations of the 21st-Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges, a national, blue-ribbon group of education experts that issued its findings last spring (www.aacc.nche.edu/21stCenturyInitiative).

Awards will be given in five categories: Emerging Leadership, Student Success, Exemplary CEO/Board, Advancing Diversity and Outstanding College/Corporate Partnership.  The finalists and the winner in each category will be presented April 23 during the closing plenary brunch of the 2013 AACC Convention in San Francisco, Calif. (www.aacc.nche.edu/convention)

"Over an 18-month period, the 21st-Century Commission provided a bold and forward-thinking blueprint for the community college of the future," said Marie Gnage, chair of the AACC Board of Directors. "With these new awards, AACC intends to elevate community colleges that are in the vanguard of progressive practices. The awardees will receive national visibility, but the spotlight on their exemplary practices will ultimately benefit all community colleges."

Finalists for the AACC Awards of Excellence were chosen by a specially-appointed committee of the AACC Board of Directors based on specific criteria(www.aacc.nche.edu/About/Awards/Pages/default.aspx).

The 2013 AACC Awards of Excellence finalists include:

Emerging Leadership

• Community College of Allegheny County (PA)
• Cuyahoga Community College (OH)
• Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (WI)
• Suffolk County Community College (NY)
• Waubonsee Community College (IL)

Student Success

• Central New Mexico Community College (NM)
• Hudson County Community College (NJ)
• Phillips Community College (AR)
• South Texas College (TX)
• Tarrant County College (TX)

Exemplary CEO/Board

• Cuyahoga Community College (OH)
• Howard Community College (MD)
• Long Beach Community College District (CA)
• Montgomery College (MD)
• St. Johns River State College (FL)

Advancing Diversity

• Lone Star College–Cy-Fair (TX)
• Miami Dade College (FL)
• Prairie State College (IL)
• Seminole State College of Florida (FL)
• St. Louis Community College (MO)

Outstanding College/Corporate Partnership

• Harper College (IL)
• Indian River State College (FL)
• Northeast Community College (NE)
• Northeast State Community College (TN)
• Richland Community College (IL)

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the American Association of Community Colleges is a national organization representing the nation's close to 1,200 community, junior, and technical colleges and their over 13 million students. Community colleges are the largest sector of higher education, enrolling almost half of all U.S. undergraduates. For more information about AACC and community colleges, see www.aacc.nche.edu.

SOURCE American Association of Community Colleges