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A "New School" Leader is Opening Doors for Students

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At the Community College of Aurora (CCA), Colorado, President Dr. Mordecai Brownlee has big plans.

This month, the school will embark on a capital campaign to build its first new building in 23 years. They have already received a $1 million donation, the largest single gift in the school's history. Brownlee said he hopes to open the building in 2023 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the institution.

Dr. Mordecai BrownleeDr. Mordecai BrownleeBut Brownlee isn’t just expanding the campus. Since the beginning of his tenure in August of this year, he has been working to overhaul and adjust aging programs to meet the needs of Aurora’s diverse community and workforce. Under his leadership, CCA will build healthcare, renewable energy, and construction management courses, and offer hybrid, online, and in-person instruction outside the typical working hours to accommodate their students’ varied schedules.

Getting more students through the classroom and into successful careers, is the mission closest to Brownlee’s heart. Like institutions, Brownlee has created his own mission statement: empower the lives of people and develop systems that empower the lives of people.

Brownlee is what Dr. Michael A. Baston, president of Rockland Community College, calls a “new school” leader.

“Many of us who are in this space are grateful to stand on the shoulders of the practitioners of the past,” said Baston. “But we understand it’s time for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate to say that what was, isn’t sufficient for what’s coming. And [Brownlee] joins our ranks in that regard.”

“New school” leaders are characterized by their front-line activity, said Baston. They think creatively about how to build relationships that can help students succeed on their educational journeys. They reach out to the surrounding community to solve local problems together. Baston met Brownlee at an American Council of Education (ACE) conference in 2017, and the two bonded immediately over their shared passion for equitable student access.

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