Vincent Tinto To Receive Harry S. Truman Award From AACC

SAN ANTONIO, April 17, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The continuous work of community colleges to increase student success rates has been shaped by the research and recommendations of Vincent Tinto, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Syracuse University. His research has helped guide college and university leaders by going beyond theory to lay out the actions that must be taken by institutions to ensure that more students succeed.  Tinto will be recognized for his work with the 2015 Harry S. Truman Award from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) at the 95th AACC Annual Convention on Saturday, April 18 at the event's opening session.

Tinto understands the challenges faced by community colleges. He has spent 40 years researching student retention. He has more than 50 notable publications to his name, including the highly regarded Leaving College and Completing College.

His services are in demand. He's consulted with federal and state agencies, with independent research firms, foundations, and with two- and four-year institutions of higher education on a broad range of higher educational issues. He sits on a number of advisory boards, including the Community College Survey of Student Engagement and Lumina Foundation, and has worked with AACC, the American Association of Colleges and Universities, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among other organizations. He also chaired the national panel responsible for awarding $5 million to establish the first national center for research on teaching and learning in higher education. From 1990 to 1996, Tinto was associate director of the National Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.

Tinto's services have been requested all over the world. He's lectured in Australia, Europe, South Africa, and South America. He's also worked with the European Access Network and the Dutch Ministry of Education to develop programs that promote access to higher education for underrepresented youth in Europe.

In the United States, he has been recognized for his work many times over. He was awarded the Council of Educational Opportunity Walter O. Mason 2012 Award for his work on the retention of low-income students, the National Institute for Staff Development International 2008 Leadership Award and was named Distinguished Fellow in the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations.

The Harry S. Truman Award is given to someone who has had a major, positive impact on community colleges. It is named for President Truman who commissioned a study on higher education in 1947 where the term "community college" was first used widely. The idea of community colleges appealed to the President, and his administration began to put in place mechanisms to foster the growth of such institutions around the country.

As the voice of the nation's community colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), delivers educational and economic opportunity for 13 million diverse students in search of the American Dream. Uniquely dedicated to access and success for all students, AACC's nearly 1,200 member colleges provide an on-ramp to degree attainment, skilled careers and family-supporting wages. Located in Washington, D.C., AACC advocates for these not-for-profit, public-serving institutions to ensure they have the resources and support they need to deliver on the mission of increasing economic mobility for all. 

SOURCE American Association of Community Colleges

Related Links

http://www.aacc.nche.edu