Highly-Selective Program Expanding Talent Pipeline Amid Looming Shortage of Community College Presidents and Critical Need to Improve Student Success
April 20, 2017(Springfield, OH) –Dr. Amit Singh, provost and senior vice president of Clark State Community College, has been awarded the prestigious Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence, a highly-selective leadership program aimed at developing a new cadre of outstanding leaders capable of transforming student success at community colleges across the U.S. The Aspen Institute, an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC, today announced that Singh joins the 2017-2018 class of Aspen Presidential Fellows.
“Dr. Singh has demonstrated his commitment to student success through his development of a data-informed culture at Clark State and his relentless focus on excellence in everything he does,” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “He is a tremendous collaborator and, above all, an exceptional leader.”
Singh and the 39 other Aspen Presidential Fellows will embark on a year-long fellowship this July. Delivered in collaboration with the Stanford Educational Leadership Initiative and top community college leaders, the program focuses on a new vision of leadership and aims to guide new and aspiring community college presidents to dramatically change student outcomes in four areas: learning, completion while in community college and of bachelor’s degrees after transfer, employment and earnings after graduation, and equitable access and success for underrepresented minority and low-income students.
Singh said he is excited to have been selected for the program and looks forward to learning from his colleagues around the nation, experts from the academia and ASPEN institute, and Stanford faculty from the graduate schools of Business, Design, and Education. “They will help me grow personally and professionally to become a better and effective leader in serving our students,” he said.
The Aspen Fellowship is a year-long program with three face-to-face sessions, beginning with the first one at the Stanford campus in July. “Each fellow is assigned a mentor. There will be other activities online throughout the year,” said Singh. “It’s a great opportunity with a very comprehensive and prestigious program.”
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, 365 presidents left their posts over the past year. This staggering rate of turnover is happening at the same time that increasing numbers of students—including growing numbers of minority, low-income, and first-generation to college students—are flocking to community colleges to earn degrees that lead to good jobs.
Singh was selected through a rigorous process that considered his abilities to take strategic risks, lead strong teams and cultivate partnerships, and focus on results-oriented improvements in student success and access.
The 2017-2018 Aspen Presidential Fellows hail from 24 states and 38 community colleges of varying sizes. For more information, visit: http://as.pn/1ky.
The Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, College Futures Foundation, ECMC Foundation, Greater Texas Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation.