NEW YORK—More than 1200 educators converged on the Big Apple earlier this week to discuss ways to cultivate innovation at the community college level.
The League for Innovation in the Community College — an international nonprofit focused on student success and institutional excellence — used their annual conference to encourage college administrators, staff and faculty to think outside of the box in developing bold new initiatives for their students.
“Community Colleges are the Ellis Island of the 21st century,” said Dr. Karrin E. Wilks, interim president of Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York City. 
Although many of the nation’s community colleges are diverse, students who attend them often face a number of financial, food and housing insecurities.
During a session titled, “Student Success Poverty Champions: Perspectives on Noncognitive Retention Efforts,” a panel of experts from Texas community colleges noted that while many schools across the nation have resources and student services professionals on hands, many students are never made aware of them.
At Amarillo College, faculty and staff became “poverty experts,” said Anette Carlisle, a zoologist who is on Amarillo’s Board of Regents.
By focusing on emergency aid, food pantry, clothing closet and social services, she said that the college has been able to help address students’ poverty concerns and thus improve student retention.
