By 2007, the United States will need 700 new community college presidents and campus heads, 1,800 new leaders in upper administrative positions, and 30,000 new faculty. The American Association of Community Colleges is addressing this leadership gap in a major national initiative, Leading Forward: The Community College Opportunity, supported by a two-year planning grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Community colleges are the largest, most accessible sector of higher education, serving almost half of all U.S. undergraduates.

• Leading Forward Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Leading Forward Presentation Information (PDF)
• Presentation for the National Community College Hispanic Council 2004 leadership Symposium (PDF)

Some of the activities of Leading Forward include:

• Series of one-day leadership summits to gain consensus on a national leadership development framework, including shared agreement on the characteristics of effective community college leaders, a national inventory of leadership offerings, and identification of venues for collaboration.

• Development of an online leadership portfolio, a tool to implement the national framework by creating a “roadmap” for future leaders to chart their own development or to assist colleges in recruiting leaders.

• Studies of community college leadership programs supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 1960s and 1970s, and selected contemporary and emerging programs.

• This Web site containing comprehensive information about community college leadership.

By the end of the Leading Forward two-year planning grant, AACC expects to have a comprehensive plan for Leading Forward: Community College Leaders Today and Tomorrow for the next 3-5 years.

See Leading Forward Summits
 
CONTACTS:
Lynn Barnett, Vice President for Academic, Student, and Community Development, lbarnett@aacc.nche.edu
Margaret Rivera, Vice President of Membership and Information Services, mrivera@aacc.nche.edu
Norma Kent, Vice President for Communications, nkent@aacc.nche.edu

AACC's History of Recent Leadership Development Work

In 2001, the American Association of Community Colleges renewed its mission statement to respond to changes taking place in higher education. One major concern for community colleges is the impending shortage of college leaders resulting from an unprecedented number of retirements over the next decade.  For more information, visit the AACC Website.