Dr. Janet N. Spriggs, chief operating officer for the division of student success at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, has been accepted into the Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence program. Spriggs and 39 others will embark on a 10-month fellowship beginning in July. 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 healthy external partnerships with K-12 schools, four-year colleges, and employers in their community. Over the next decade, more than 80 percent of community college presidents are projected to retire; creating an opportunity to develop leaders with the tools and vision needed to lead transformational change aligned to student goals and community needs. The Aspen Presidential Fellowship aims to respond by recruiting and developing leaders. 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.

“Exceptional presidential leadership will be essential if more community colleges are to deliver the talent sought by employers, to enable the social mobility needed by individuals, and to ensure the levels of citizen engagement critical to our democracy,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence program. “This diverse fellowship class was chosen because they have the stuff to deliver against that promise – to be exceptional community college presidents.”