Southwest Tennessee Community College President Tracy Hall selected for prestigious Aspen Institute's Presidents Fellowship
Dr. Tracy D. Hall, president of Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis, is one of 25 innovative leaders selected from across the country to participate in the second cohort of the Aspen Presidents Fellowship, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase. The Fellowship is a unique yearlong professional development experience that helps community college presidents refine and reform their agenda to drive transformative change.
“Community colleges educate millions of diverse students every year who are relying on them to deliver the education and credentials they need for a fulfilling life and career,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the College Excellence Program. “I am delighted that these 25 accomplished presidents have committed to strengthening their institutions’ strategies to ensure that more students achieve those aims.“
The Aspen Institute’s Presidents Fellowship represents a powerful opportunity to reshape community college leadership and strengthen educational equity and excellence across the nation. Fellows will work with highly accomplished community college presidents, Aspen leaders, and each other to analyze their college’s outcomes and develop concrete plans inspired by field-leading practices.
They will engage in a curriculum that will include exemplars from the field, data reports on available good jobs and student outcomes in completion and transfer, and qualitative reports about how well their current practices are aligned to what research reveals has led other colleges to high and equitable levels of student success. The program focuses on systemic reforms to improve student access, learning, completion rates, and post-graduation outcomes, drawing on over a decade of research by the Aspen Institute into effective community college leadership.
“I am excited to collaborate with my peers from across the nation to develop and implement new strategies that will directly benefit our students and community,” said President Hall. “It is an honor to be selected, and I look forward to learning and exchanging innovative practices that will help our students graduate and pursue meaningful careers.”
Hall has served as the president of Southwest Tennessee Community College since 2015. Under her leadership, the College joined Achieving the Dream, prioritizing equity and student success through a redesign of its student-centered processes. This commitment led to the College being recognized as a Leader College of Distinction. In 2021, these efforts were honored with the prestigious and highly competitive Bellwether Award in the Planning, Governance and Finance category for transforming the student experience from recruitment to graduation. In 2023, Hall launched the Southwest Workforce Solutions Center, a revolutionary change for the College that integrated its workforce programs with associate degree programs featuring embedded certificates, significantly enhancing students' career pathways.
“We are incredibly proud of President Hall for being recognized as a national leader in community college innovation,” said Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings. “The Aspen Institute’s program for college presidents is one of the most prestigious fellowships in the country, and Dr. Hall’s selection and participation aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing students with the tools they need for academic and career success.”
This second cohort of Aspen Presidents Fellows reflects the country's diverse talent: 52 percent are women and 44 percent are people of color. They join a network of 375 fellowship alumni, 176 of whom are community college presidents today. Aspen connects and supports this growing network of community college reform leaders with opportunities for targeted professional development, research briefings, and convenings at national conferences.
The Presidents Fellowship is made possible with philanthropic support from JPMorgan Chase through the firm’s New Skills at Work initiative, which aims to prepare young people for the future of work and meet the growing demand for skilled workers, and JPMorgan Chase’s $30 billion commitment to advancing racial equity and driving an inclusive economy.
Posted by Southwest Tennessee Community College: https://www.southwest.tn.edu/stories/news/2024/Oct22.php
About Southwest Tennessee Community College
Southwest Tennessee Community College is a comprehensive, multicultural, public, open-access college with two main campuses in Memphis, Tenn. and five sites in Shelby and Fayette counites. Southwest awards associate degrees and certifications in more than 120 programs of study to raise educational levels, enhance economic development and enrich quality of life for students and the community at large. Southwest is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution, accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
For more information, visit www.southwest.tn.edu. Follow Southwest at Facebook.com/southwesttn, Twitter.com/southwesttn and Instagram.com/southwesttn.
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program aims to strengthen higher education leadership and practice to improve student outcomes—with the ultimate goal of advancing economic mobility and developing talent for the good of all people and society as a whole. For more information on our latest findings, research, and news, visit our website, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and X.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
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The College System of Tennessee is the state’s largest public higher education system, with 13 community colleges, 24 colleges of applied technology and the online TN eCampus serving approximately 140,000 students. The system is governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.