Innovations
May
2011
Established in 1982, the League's Innovation of the Year Award was initiated to recognize innovations that reflect extraordinary achievement and the spirit of innovation and experimentation upon which the League was founded. The award provides an opportunity to showcase the innovations and the dedicated community college educators who are working to create new programs, improve processes, and enhance the opportunities available in their communities.
Criteria
Selection of award recipients is based on the following criteria established by the League:
Quality. Students and/or staff agree that...
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April
2011
In just a few years, Monroe Community College's Scholars' Day program has become a platform for students, faculty, and staff to successfully promote their creative and scholarly work. The event has provided an annual program around which to plan activities such as research and writing projects, performances, exhibits, symposia, panel discussions, and cooking demonstrations. Monroe Community College (MCC) believes that events such as Scholars? Day are worth the investment of time and resources because they are capable of combining inspiration and the celebration of academic quality like few...
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March
2011
"In designing Launch, it was important to us that program participants understand the steps that make a successful startup and to physically take their startup idea on that journey," said Tom McKeon, Tulsa Community College (TCC) President. "Oklahoma is one of the most active states for entrepreneurial activity. TCC's Launch program builds on that momentum and emphasizes the importance startups are to the economic health of our economy."
Since its beginning in spring 2009, more than 100 people have applied to be part of the program. Each cycle, or flight, uses local business leaders and...
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March
2011
In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, anyone could smoke indoors at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. In the 1990s, federal laws moved smoking outdoors. Unlike bell bottoms, a return to smoking indoors has not occurred and federal and state laws have expanded. In 2002, Lane created several designated smoking areas to curtail smoking everywhere on campus and help make the campus accessible for all who came to Lane. Ironically, some of the smoking areas were placed next to main walkways and air intakes. Following the creation of these areas, Lane's Safety Committee received more complaints of...
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February
2011
Engineering instructors from across the United States will flock to Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) over the next three years to learn state-of-the-art technology thanks to a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). CGCC received the Advanced Technology Education grant, "Developing the Digital Technologist for the New Millennium," in partnership with the University of New Mexico.
CGCC engineering instructor Bassam Matar coauthored the grant and says that, along with Drake State Community College in Alabama, CGCC will host two different workshops per year that will...
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November
2010
Planting for the Future
On a spring day, children from the Hiersteiner Child Development Center (HCDC) at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) gingerly tasted peas from the pods they snapped fresh off the vine, grown inside the hoophouse garden a short walk west of the HCDC. Children had planted peas and were now enjoying their harvest. "These are the students who are changing the way we relate to food," said David A. Smith, associate professor, hospitality management. Smith believes that school lunches and teaching children to appreciate food that comes from the garden are as important as...
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October
2010
As technology becomes increasingly important in the 21st century, there is a growing need for students to obtain the knowledge and skills that will prepare them for careers requiring competency in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In a world driven by technological change, students without a strong background in STEM are limiting their futures.
Because of the important role they play in educating tomorrow's workforce, community colleges are a key element in bolstering the knowledge and skills of today?s students. Community colleges are answering the call for more...
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October
2010
Wallace State Community College in Hanceville recently celebrated the grand opening of its Advanced Visualization Center. The Advanced Visualization Center is a comprehensive state-of-the-art learning center for developing and implementing innovative, engaging curricula for education and workforce development. The center includes virtual and simulated environments, 3-D and 4-D object development labs, 3-D immersive experiences, and telepresence conference areas. Ten labs overseen by the center have been installed in five locations across campus.
"The technologically-advanced teaching and...
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September
2010
Most college student affairs divisions have a variety of services in place to help retain students. The challenge we face is getting students, especially those who need our services most, to take advantage of those services. Thus, in recent years, the traditional "field of dreams" model of providing student retention services on campuses has yielded to a much more intrusive approach. The logic of the past was that if we provided a healthy menu of services and programs--a la cart programs--students would naturally select the needed services or at least take advantage of those programs and...
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August
2010
Lori always dreamed of becoming a nurse, but the demands of raising three children kept that dream on hold for several years. When she and her husband felt the timing was right, Lori enrolled in the nursing program at Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) to pursue her dream.
Returning to school was not easy. In the beginning, Lori and her husband had to juggle the demands of work, family, and college, but her dream of becoming a nurse kept them moving forward. With little discretionary household income, they also struggled with many financial obstacles in order to pay for tuition, fees,...
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June
2010
Many colleges and universities across the United States have lost students called up for military service in Iraq or Afghanistan, and Santa Fe College (SFC) is no exception. In April of 2003, Sgt. John Travis Rivero was killed at the age of 23 in a Humvee accident in the Iraqi desert. Three months later, Sgt. Jeffrey Mattison Wershow was killed at age 22 in a terrorist attack while providing security for American educators visiting Baghdad University.
Both former Santa Fe students were from Gainesville, Florida, and both served in the 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment of the Florida...
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Established 28 years ago, the League's Innovation of the Year Award was devised as a way to recognize significant innovations reflecting capstone achievements and the continuing renewal of the spirit of innovation and experimentation upon which the League was founded. The award is designed to recognize faculty, staff, and administrators at member colleges who have designed and implemented a significant innovation. Granting this award provides a venue for showcasing these innovations and the dedicated community college educators who are working to create new programs, improve processes, and...
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May
2010
With just over a half century of history to its name, Cayuga Community College is a youngster in a region sculpted by glaciers. But this relative upstart has taken on a major role in revitalizing the economic landscape. That's the goal, as Cayuga infuses entrepreneurship into its academics and outreach.
For college President Daniel Larson, a career in higher education led from Missouri to Michigan to the State University of New York (SUNY), a 64-campus network of nearly a half-million students. Since taking the helm in 2007 at Cayuga, one of SUNY's 30 community colleges, Larson has fostered...
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Central Lakes College (CLC) and Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program (RMCEP), in Brainerd and Staples, Minnesota, were recently recognized at the National 2010 Careers Conference, in Madison, Wisconsin, for their development of an innovative, collaborative model for training dislocated workers. The training delivery model exemplifies effective collaboration among numerous workforce and economic development agencies, as evidenced by the Showcase Program Award presented to Rebecca Best, dean of Workforce, Economic, and Regional Development at CLC, and Craig Nathan, operations manager...
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February
2010
Innovation is in the American community college DNA, a significant part of its heritage, character, distinction, and leadership for change. A new report released today by the League for Innovation in the Community College adds new insights into why, how, and with what result colleges innovate successfully and lessons they can share. The Nature of Innovation in the Community College reports findings from a study conducted by Terry O'Banion, president emeritus of the League, and supported by MetLife Foundation. The study included 173 innovations at 19 colleges, involving more than 400 community...
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January
2010
Late one Friday afternoon toward the end of last spring term, the blank, off-white walls in the main hallway of Lane Community College's Building 19 in Eugene, Oregon, were transformed into a place of beauty and learning. Through the vision and energy of Lane's printmaking instructor, Susan Lowdermilk, and the support of Lane's Art on Campus Committee, a selection of her past students' finest prints became part of Lane's permanent art collection. The prints went on display not in the art department, but across campus in a wide hallway where students from all disciplines would see and be...
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2010
This guide is a product of the League's Significant Discussions Project, and was created to facilitate discussions between secondary and postsecondary faculty and administrators, and business, industry, and community partners. The Significant Discussions guide is a comprehensive set of tools to assist these partners in their collaborative work to better align curriculum across institutions, thus easing student transitions from high school to community college and university transfer. The guide is based on effective practices in place at nine participating sites and promising practices...
Looking ahead is a necessity. Consider strategies such as strategic planning, thinking outside the box, brainstorming, trend analysis, and scenario building. These are all examples of ways anyone in their day-to-day lives might develop their skills in thinking and planning for the future. At the Institute for the Future at Anne Arundel Community College (IF@AACC), students and the community benefit from a team of faculty members who promote future thinking and creativity, foster innovation, and engage learners in the art of foresight. This is a special opportunity for community college...
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