WASHINGTON – Building on ongoing efforts to focus more attention and resources on community colleges, top Obama Administration officials joined philanthropic leaders on Monday to announce a $1 million prize for community colleges that do an outstanding job of moving students from campus to careers.
The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence is being funded and offered through a partnership between Aspen Institute, the Joyce and Lumina Foundations and the philanthropic arms of Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase. Its purpose is in line with Obama Administration efforts to elevate the stature and increase resources at the disposal of America’s 1,200 community colleges, which educate 40 percent of all students in higher education.
Second lady Jill Biden said the prize builds on the momentum generated by the first White House community college summit that she convened earlier this year.
“People have begun to pay more attention to community colleges,” Biden said at the inaugural event for the prize at the Newseum in downtown Washington, D.C. “Finally, they are watching closely as you work to educate our way to a stronger America.”
Jamie Merisotis, President and CEO of the Lumina Foundation for Education, said the prize is meant to showcase effective strategies being employed by community colleges to get credentials with labor market value for students.
“In the end we think that the Aspen Prize will enable a much clearer understanding of excellence at community colleges across the country,” Merisotis said. “We view this as an opportunity to accelerate the best practices in community colleges across the country.”
Monday’s event also featured Dr. Martha Kanter, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary for Employment & Training at the U.S. Department of Labor; and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and one of his Clinton era predecessors, Richard Riley.
